The Death of Hope
by 570K4
Summary: An ME-3 AU story where the Crucible doesn't make it to the Citadel, the fleet is decimated, and the Reapers scour the Galaxy for survivors, most notably the Normandy crew. Story will have multiple POVs, all the space combat that you were sad wasn't in the game, (ground combat too), and some drama. Will be very dark. Lots of character death.
1. Chapter 1

**Author notes.**

**Firstly, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read my story. If you are here because you clicked on the wrong story, then I thank you for reading, and in doing so, making your world a better place.**

**I don't have much experience writing, fanfiction or otherwise, so if you see any glaring grammar errors, story issues, rough patches, or something you want to tell me about, please mention it in your review or pm me.**

**Also, I have had some difficulty finding Mass Effect ship specifications and technical details for weapons, so if you find any mistakes or misuses of technology, please let me know. When missing information, I usually add whatever seems logical to me, so if you disagree, or find that I have neglected actual canon information, please let me know. Accuracy is very important to me.**

**Some authors are offended by nitpicking. I am not. I love it. If you took the time to sit there and come up with some obscure fact that I got wrong, (but photon torpedoes are a darker shade of red), please let me know. I love obscure facts.**

**Anyway, about the lead up to this story. The story begins after the attack on the Cerberus base, just before Shepard and the fleet reach Earth. For the purposes of this story, Shepard has brokered peace between the Geth and Quarians, cured the Genophage, and is in a relationship with Garrus. Oh, and Kaiden is alive and on the Normandy. Any other important details will either not be mentioned in the story, or will be referenced before they become relevant.**

**Also, I am just now returning to clean up the hideous grammatical errors and poor writing of the beginning.**

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"Approaching Sol Relay commander." Joker said from the pilot's seat of the Normandy-SR2. His voice carried a subtle tension, rarely seen in the man. However, his hands remained as steady as ever as they darted across the controls, preparing the ship to arrive at the battle.

Shepard felt the weight of the situation as well, as did the rest of the crew. They were at the head of the largest and most advanced fleet ever united under one banner in the history of any race. And still, the odds were against them.

Three years ago at the Battle of the Citadel, it had taken most of the Alliance fleet to destroy Sovereign, a single Reaper capital ship. Now they were flying straight at the rest of the Reapers, their cybernetic ships numbering in the tens of thousands. She wished they had a better plan than to go head to head with Harbinger's fleet, in the vague hope that the Crucible would activate and all the Reapers would vanish in a puff of smoke. She wished she had something better to say to her crew, than what essentially amounted to "I know you guys will die with honor when this all goes wrong." She wished her hands were as steady as Joker's.

"We're through the relay in 30 seconds." Joker said, shaking her out of her thoughts.

She thought about saying a quick prayer, or quoting a bit of poetry, but nothing came to mind. She settled for thinking of Garrus down in the battery, which gave her a little comfort.

There was a slight lurch as the Normandy passed massive glowing gyroscope of the Sol Relay and dropped below lightspeed. The LIDAR screen lit up with a solid mass of blue IFF tags behind them as the rest of their combined fleets poured through the relay.

Shepard could see the sun through the upper right hand quarter of the cockpit window. There was no sign of Earth or the Reapers yet. Whichever way this ends, she thought, there's going to be a hell of a lot of casualties on both sides.

"Alliance fleets reporting." Joker said, performing his final systems checks.

"Turian fleets reporting."

"Asari fleets reporting."

"Quarian fleets accounted for and ready." came a slightly tinny voice from the comms network. Shepard wasn't sure, but it sounded like Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib.

"Geth fleet reporting."

She wondered briefly if the Geth felt anything about the upcoming battle. After all, they were about to go to war with the beings they once worshiped as gods. Did they feel anger, sadness, maybe even happiness that they were working with organics for the first time in centuries. This brought to mind Legion's tragic sacrifice on Rannoch. She shook her head. Keep it together Shepard, she cursed herself. We haven't even started yet.

"All fleets reporting in commander, ready to engage on your command." Joker said, mastering the quaver in his voice undetectable to everyone but Shepard, and EDI of course.

All other thoughts left her mind when Earth came into view. They were approaching the dark side, and she was lost for a moment in the beauty of the blue sheen of the atmosphere, as the sun rose in the background, reflecting off of the closed Citadel, visible even at this distance. Then she saw the lights on the dark continents in front of her and wondered how many of those lights were electric and how many were burning cities.

A dark dread filled her as she saw the all too familiar dark shapes of the Reaper ships, thousands of them, still about 5000 kilometers away, but moving in their direction in a loose formation. They looked like something out of a nightmare. They were insect-like enough to inspire feelings of arachnophobia, alien enough to cause a deep and fundamental revulsion, and large enough to inspire a deep, almost religious terror, like the uncomprehending fear of a rabbit staring into the barrel of a shotgun.

"This is it, everyone, be ready." She ordered. "On my command, fire."

Hundreds of dreadnoughts fired continuously, sending a heavy rain of blue and white streaks, just slow enough for the eye to see. A massive blue teardrop shot from the Destiny Ascension, and she saw it strike the lead Reaper ship in a splash of orange fragments as a hundred kilograms of tungsten, iron, uranium, and titanium, traveling at nearly a tenth of the speed of light, was stopped dead by the massive ship's barrier shielding. It took several hits from smaller projectiles, the cuttlefish shaped craft shrugging off the impacts, still speeding silently toward them.

"Shit," Shepard muttered to herself. "That would have demolished a space station."

Reaper capital ships throughout the formation were taking hits, but with only minimal damage. Then, as if on cue, the claws of the ships opened, as they prepared to return fire.

Better get the fighters out of our ranks before there's shrapnel flying everywhere. "On my command, engage the Reaper forces." Shepard said to the fighter and frigate wings.

"Roger that. All fighters on me." Called the commander of the lead fighter wing. Thousands of fighters left their cover behind the larger ships and wove gracefully through the formation, speeding ahead toward the two kilometer long Reaper capital ships waiting ahead.

As the bright blue engine flares of countless delta and wedge fighter formations sped forward, the firing from the heavier ships lessened to avoid friendly fire. Then, an equal number of the Reaper Oculus fighters swarmed from the opposing formation, the smooth black orbs lit only by the bright red of their particle cannons.

A barrage of red bursts from the Oculi arced out, to match the white, rapid fire mass accelerator weapons of the approaching fighter groups. In a matter of seconds, the two groups were intermingled, brief bursts of shattered metal and flames marking casualties for both sides. Then the fighters reached the main Reaper formation.

A bright red glow formed at the center "eye" of the lead Reaper followed by a long red beam of molten tungsten. The other Reapers followed suit, stabbing into the fleet like dozens of red fingers.

The SSV Aconcagua dreadnought, flanked by the Einstien and the Cape town, continued ahead at high speed, their shields soaking minor damage from the Reaper GARDIAN fire, until they were only a few dozen kilometers from the Reaper leader. At point blank range, they opened fire into the lead Reaper ship, sending flames and chunks of shrapnel flying off into space as several of its claws and chunks of it's main hull were ripped apart by the concentrated fire.

The damaged Reaper fired its main gun in a slow arc, the long red beam effortlessly splitting the Aconcagua down the middle, shattering the hull, and scattering fragments of the ship for kilometers.

Joker disentangled the Normandy from the formation and sped towards Earth. He spun off course slightly when three Oculi dipped from underneath a friendly cruiser, headed for the SSV Cape Town. The thanix cannons of the main battery sent a powerful low vibration through the ship, as three quick blasts of bright blue shot out and all but vaporized the Oculi.

The smaller Reaper destroyers, which had been holding back to avoid the initial volley, swarmed into the battle, attacking cruisers and frigates in groups of five or six to make up for their smaller size.

"Breaking off and preparing for descent." Joker said, the regret in his voice obvious ans he left what would be the largest space battle in the history of the galaxy.

"This is the Resolute to any available ships." Came a panicked voice from over the fleet network. "A large force of Reapers is breaking off from the main force and heading for the relay."

"This is the Normandy. All ships in the reserve force, form up on us and head back to the relay." Shepard ordered over the network.

"We're not going down with the rest of hammer?" Joker asked.

"The Crucible is waiting in the Exodus cluster. If the Reapers go through and ambush them, they won't be able to hold up for long."

Joker switched the thrusters to full and they shot like a bullet through the battle.

"All right Joker, who's behind us." Shepard asked, as they raced back to the relay.

"We've got the Asari second fleet and assorted Geth vessels right on our ass." Joker said nervously. "Most of the Quarian heavy fleet is about 45 seconds back, along with some stragglers from the Turians."

"What's the size of the Reaper force?"

EDI responded from the co-pilot's seat. "There are ten capital ships and 40 destroyers."

"Shit!" Joker exclaimed. "We don't have enough ships for that."

"What's their ETA to the relay?" Shepard asked

"Sixty seconds." Joker responded.

"What's our ETA to the relay?" Shepard asked, dreading the answer.

"Fifty seconds."

As the relay came into view, so did the formation of Reapers.

"Range?" she asked."

"Twenty thousand kilometers." Joker responded, flexing his wrists over the controls.

"All ships, commence firing as soon as you come into range." Shepard instructed their followers.

The tension was palpable as the seconds ticked by and the relay and the Reaper formation got closer together. Then the Dreadnoughts fired their first salvo.

Twelve mass slugs shot across the darkness, most missing, but a few glancing off of the Reaper hulls.

They fired again with similar results, the Reapers ignoring them for now.

"I hope your boyfriend's been calibrating," Joker said, "Cause we're in range in ten seconds."

"Charge our GARDIAN system, spin up the CBT shields and prepare to fire the main gun." Shepard called over her shoulder to the rest of the crew.

Now in range, the cruisers added their fire to the next volley, sending a dense rain of thanix beams and mass slugs slashing through the void. Nearly half of the fire was centered on a single Reaper capital ship, ripping through it's shields and spraying twisted shards of it hull in every direction.

"Hit that one." Shepard ordered. "Finish it off."

The thin blue stream of the thanix cannon tore into the floundering Reaper, shortly followed by another volley from the dreadnoughts which ripped clean out the other side of the ship in a spray of shattered metal and venting gas.

The Reapers, as if angry for the murder of their comrade, turned from their advance to the relay and slowly swung around to face the oncoming ships.

"Dreadnoughts, concentrate your fire on the capital ships, everyone else, engage the destroyers and draw fire away from the dreadnoughts.

The destroyers, now rushing headlong to close the distance with the fleet, opened their claws, and prepared to fire.

Both sides fired at the same time, red beams and white mass slugs bridging the gap between the two groups.

The Nefrane, an Asari cruiser next to the Normandy took three direct hits, the deadly beams leaving only a few pieces of smoking debris larger than a fighter. Two Reaper destroyers went dark during the first volley, struck in the vulnerable firing "eye" of their main gun. Shepard glanced at the Lidar readout to see friendly IFF tags disappearing at an alarming rate. Then the Normandy's thanix cannon fired, severing a destroyer's claw in a puff of molten metal, and ripping a deep gouge into the underside of the ship.

Thanix missiles whizzed by the cockpit windows, most shot down by the Reaper GARDIAN systems, but a few reaching their targets, weakening the Reaper shields, or smashing craters into the hulls of unshielded ships.

The Normandy rocked, and the lights dimmed for a moment as the ship took a hit from a destroyer's main gun.

"Shields down to 43 percent." Joker said "Let's not do that again."

Now in range of the smaller weapons, GARDIAN lasers melted scorch holes in enemy armor, disruptor torpedoes slammed into enemy shields, and dozens of ships, friendly and Reapers alike, started dropping.

The dreadnoughts had managed to destroy a second capital ship by massing their fire. Unfortunately, the massive Reaper vessels had now finished their slow turn and began to return fire.

The damage done by a Reaper capital ship's main weapon was ranked next to the largest nuclear weapons. A direct hit would tear through kinetic shielding in a matter of milliseconds and destroy even the largest of dreadnoughts in a single shot. Seven of the dreadnoughts were destroyed immediately, cut into pieces, or their mass effect cores detonated by the incoming fire. The surviving five activated their thrusters and scattered, hoping to evade attacks from the remaining eight capital ships, firing rapidly from their smaller broadside guns.

A single Geth dreadnought, rather than taking evasive action, continued on toward the nearest Reaper. It's thrusters on full, firing as it went, it charged it's target, a glancing hit from another Reaper's red beam shearing a hundred meter long chunk of hull plating off of it's starboard side.

The Reaper, about to fire on one of the Asari Dreadnoughts, was rammed broadside by the kilometer long Geth ship, sending shards of metal flying away in all directions, mangling both ships severely. The dying Reaper fired it's main gun one last time into the Geth dreadnought at point blank range, causing the mass effect core to explode, the resulting blast destroying the Reaper as well.

The remaining seven Reapers began to focus on the last dreadnoughts when the Quarian heavy fleet, now in range, opened fire in a blistering storm of thanix beams and mass slugs.

Meanwhile, the Normandy broke numerous safety recommendations in pulling a sudden hairpin turn to avoid collision with an exploding cruiser.

"The Quarian fleet says they're laying it on thick for those capital ships." Shepard told Joker as he launched a pair of Javelin disruptor torpedoes into a Reaper destroyer.

"That is fortunate." EDI said. "We have eliminated twenty one of the destroyers. However, sixty percent of our forces are destroyed or disabled. The probability of success in this scenario is less than ten percent if we do not receive reinforcements."

Joker began a witty retort, but stopped in order to spin the ship in a graceful corkscrew to avoid a pair of Reaper thanix beams. There was a thunderous crash, and the ship lurched alarmingly as they were grazed by one of the beams.

"Damage report." Shepard called over her shoulder.

There was a moment's pause before a crewman replied. "Shields are down, engine two is damaged, but functioning, minor heat damage and structural stress to the port hull.

The Normandy, in conjunction with two Geth frigates, opened fire on a destroyer simultaneously, splitting the ship down the middle and sending it into an uncontrolled spin. Joker then put the mangled ship between them and another Reaper that was attempting to fire at them, the broken destroyer blocking the thin red beam of molten tungsten meant for the Normandy.

"Nice flying Joker." Shepard said, as Joker spun the Normandy around the cover of the broken ship and fired a thanix missile into the eye of their attacker, abruptly cutting off the beam. Taking advantage of it's inability to fire, two Asari cruisers proceeded to pound the Reaper into oblivion with their broadside guns.

"This is Admiral Gerrel." Came the Quarian's voice from the communications network. "The remaining Reaper capital ships are providing cover for one ship that has broken off and headed for the relay. We are unable to pursue."

A collection of Turian ships from the reached the fighting, and dove into the battle against the destroyers with a will, tipping the odds in favor of victory. The remaining Reapers were put on the defensive as a newly arrived Turian dreadnought pounded away at the smaller ships from a distance.

Shepard glanced at the lidar readout to see that the Quarian heavy fleet had lost almost half their forces fighting the capital ships, destroying all but four of the Reapers in the process. Two were badly damaged, but still firing madly at the Quarians, one was drifting fitfully, most of its claws ripped away, along with massive chunks of it's hull, leaving it's inner workings exposed to space. It managed to fire its secondary weapons and GARDIAN lasers occasionally, but it's main gun was out of commission. The final Reaper capital ship was only lightly damaged and speeding away from the battle and toward the relay.

"All available ships, head to the relay and take out that Reaper." Shepard ordered.

The Normandy, flanked by three Asari cruisers and six frigates of mixed Asari/Geth command broke off from the skirmish and had reached the relay.

The Reaper, rather than activating the relay and jumping, as Shepard expected, had reduced it's speed and landed on the relay, gripping the smooth surface with it's claws.

"What the hell is it doing?" Shepard asked, as the Reaper charged it's main gun and fired it point blank into the relay.

"I can no longer contact the relay." EDI said, "It seems the Reaper activated a hidden subroutine in the relay's systems to deactivate the quantum shielding, then it destroyed or disabled the navigational and interface systems to prevent repairs. While the mass effect core remains stable, the relay is currently reading as inoperable."

"So the crucible is stuck on the other side, and we're stuck here with thousands of pissed off Reapers and no magic Prothean superweapon." Joker said.

"Shit," Shepard said, realizing the implications. "This was their plan all along. Rather than spend thousands of years hunting down lone ships and scouring the galaxy, they held the Citadel just out of reach and let anyone powerful enough to resist come right to them. Then they kill the relay and trap us here with no quick way out. Even if the Crucible worked, it's stuck hundreds of light years away."

"So we just lost." Joker stated, willing Shepard to save the day.

Shepard said nothing, hoping against hope that she could pull some wonderful solution out her ass like she had in the past. But there was nothing.

"Do we engage the reaper, commander? We'll be within it's firing range in twenty seconds." Joker asked, a dejected sadness in his eyes.

"No," Shepard said as the Reaper engaged it's thrusters and left the relay, and headed back in the direction of the main battle. "We wouldn't stand a chance against that thing. Take us in closer to the relay."

Joker pulled the Normandy within 500 meters of the damage the Reaper had done. Shepard stared at the ragged hole the thanix beam had made, drilling deep into the base of the relay's arms.

"EDI, run a scan, find out the extent of the damage."

A few seconds went by, and they were the longest seconds of Shepard's life.

"Commander. The systems of the relay have been damaged beyond repair. The damaged components are the navigational and communication sections of the relay, responsible for transmitting essential data between the opposite relay. Fabricating new components is beyond our scientific skill. If we had a duplicate set of components, removing the damaged sections and installing the new would take approximately two weeks, during which time, the battle would be lost. In it's current state, there is no way to operate this relay."

There was a deep silence on the Normandy's bridge.

"Heavy fleet to Normandy," Admiral Gerrel's voice came through the speakers. "What is the status of the relay?"

A deep dread filled Shepard, as she realized that the entire fleet was doomed to die here for nothing.

"Heavy fleet to Normandy, do you copy."

"This is the SSV Hawking." Came another voice. "Our sensors have picked up a massive fleet of Reaper reinforcements that were hiding on the far side of Mars while we made our approach. They are on course to our location now. What is the status of the Crucible?"

Shepard's hands were shaking as she reached for the communications panel.

"Normandy to all fleets." Shepard said over the network, her voice breaking a little. "The relay has been rendered inoperable by a Reaper attack. Repair is impossible and we are stranded in this system, without the crucible. Standby for further orders."

"This is the Alerei, are you certain there is nothing we can do, we have extensive scientific equipment and materials, we can- Keelah, NO, NO, GET THE SHIELDS BACK UP REROUTE THE-"

"This is Alliance first fleet. We are down to thirty percent strength and need reinforcements."

"Destiny Ascension responding to first fleet, we are heavily damaged, but can cover your retreat."

"This is the SSV Fuji. We have been critically damaged and I have given the order to abandon ship, any available ships, please assist in collecting rescue pods."

Tears welled up in Shepard's eyes as she made the hardest decision of her life, worse even than leaving Ashley to die on Virmie, or letting Mordin cure the genophage at the cost of his own life.

"Normandy to all fleets." Shepard spoke quietly. "Our mission has failed. Any ships-" she bit back a sob, "Any ships able to do so should immediately retreat. Attempt to evade Reaper forces and-" and what, she thought, the relay is down, we're stuck here. The Reaper FTL drives are orders of magnitude faster then ours, we would never outrun them. She closed her eyes. "Attempt to evade Reaper forces and survive by any means possible for as long as you can."

"Geth to friendly forces. Shepard commander's plan is the most logical plan of action. We will remain behind to cover your withdrawal to the best of our ability."

"Heavy fleet to Normandy and second fleet. There is a detachment of Reaper ships headed toward us. We recommend that you get out now while we cover you. May your gods watch over you."

"Indomitable to Turian fleet, all ships retreat and scatter if possible, we can-"

"SSV Ain Jalut to Shellen, there is a formation of reapers approaching your flank, engage thrusters immediately and-"

"What do you want to do commander?" Joker asked, "Engine two is about to kick the bucket, It's compromised our stealth systems, and It'll fall apart in an FTL jump. Not that we'd outrun the Reapers anyway. We could always go down fighting."

Shepard considered it, but dismissed the idea. She wouldn't throw away the lives of her entire crew in a pointless crusade when they had a chance of surviving to fight another day.

"Head for Venus. We can land there under the cloud cover and fix the engine so we can-. Well, one step at a time." Her mouth tightened as a Quarian cruiser was ripped in half by enemy fire, sending bits of molten metal spraying across the dark sky.

"Just get us out of here." She said numbly. "We have to survive so we can make them pay for this."

The Normandy engaged the stealth systems and sped smoothly away from the battle.


	2. Chapter 2

Earth, London, 2253 hours local time.

Admiral Anderson slammed the butt of his pistol into the husk's misshapen face. He was rewarded with a dry crunching sound, akin to stomping on a giant cockroach, but the cybernetic creature only paused for a second before it renewed it's attempt to tear Anderson to shreds.

Hell of a way to die, he thought to himself, grappling with the husk as it's skeletal fingers tightened around his throat, If I survive all this and get fragged by a husk in an old blown out grocery store, I'll never forgive myself.

Fighting for breath, his vision beginning to blur, he dropped his empty pistol and plunged his thumbs into the husk's eyes, or what passed for eyes on the reanimated remains of some poor bastard.

It let out a shriek of pain and rage, it's grip loosening slightly, allowing Anderson to kick it squarely in the chest, knocking it back into a section of empty shelving with a crash that echoed through the abandoned store.

He considered retrieving his pistol, but remembered that he was completely out of thermal clips, following the ambush of his convoy on the way to the staging area for the assault on the citadel. As the husk scrambled to it's feet and fixed the bulging remains of it's eyes on Anderson, he picked up a two foot long piece of broken re-bar from the debris strewn floor.

The husk charged, it's arms flapping madly, and Anderson sidestepped, bringing his makeshift club across the creature's sunken chest with an impact that cracked several of it's ribs. Despite all that, the husk reached out, snagging his left wrist in it's iron grip. He swung the re-bar again with his right hand, smashing it into the husk's kneecap, bending it backward and causing the hideous squealing thing to release his wrist and fall to it's knees.

Anderson stepped back, gripped the club with both hands and raised it above his head for a powerful blow to finish his opponent. Then there was a loud echoing roar as the husks head burst like a ripe melon, spraying blood, skull fragments, and bits of cybernetics everywhere.

Major Coats stood in the entryway of the half demolished store, surveying the scene, lowering his Mantis IV sniper rifle.

"Could have used your help ten minutes ago." Anderson said, brushing bits of the husk off of his filthy pants. "We were moving to the staging area when a Reaper landed nearby and started tearing up our convoy. We lost some people, but most of us scattered and took cover in the city. We can probably round up most of them." He paused, noting the look on the Major's face. "What is it, what's happened?"

"We got a transmission from the fleet." Coats said numbly. "The Reapers disabled the relay before the Crucible came through. Shepard ordered a retreat, but they have nowhere to go. Most of the fleet is being destroyed as we speak. There is no help coming."

A stricken look came across Anderson's face. "Any word on the casualties."

"They're high," Coats said grimly, "Reaper reinforcements showed up and inflicted seventy percent casualties. We get an occasional broadcast from a fleeing ship, the Reapers are hunting them down mercilessly. A few ships might be able to hide though."

"And then what?" Anderson said. "It's a hell of a long flight to the nearest inhabited system."

"I don't know, they're probably better off than us."

Anderson chuckled darkly at that. "We should round up the rest of my team and get to the nearest FOB. We've got a lot of work to do."

"What do you mean sir?" Coats asked, a confused look on his face. "We've just been stalling until the fleet came for us. They just failed. We're finished.

"Major," Anderson said. "There are three principles that have kept me going since this damned war started. First, as long as your heart is beating, you still have a chance of winning. Second, regardless of what you think you know about any situation, you can count on Shepard to come in and pull your bacon out of the fire."

"You think Shepard's still going to be able to do anything?" the major asked.

"As long as she's alive, she'll be working on some hare-brained plan to save humanity. Hell, she even died for two years and still came back to kick some collector ass."

"Well, I suppose her help wouldn't be unwelcome." Coats said, handing Anderson a handful of thermal clips. "But what's the third thing?"

Anderson offered a grim smile, as the two soldiers walked toward the front of the ruined store.

"Always have a plan B."


	3. Chapter 3

Normandy SR-2, ETA 20 minutes to Venus.

"Iktomi to all ships, we have been detected by Reaper forces and are unable to evade. We suspect that several ships have been captured, resulting in the compromise of our communications systems. We are transmitting on a broad wave spectrum, rather than tightbeam or quantum entanglement. We advise that all ships maintain communications silence to avoid detection. Coordinates of known Reaper forces and patrol routes will follow."

Shepard leaned back in the seat and sighed. Since they left the battle, they had been receiving a steady stream of messages from ships unable to outrun or escape the Reapers. Each message meant another ship lost, another crew destroyed, and all because of her decision.

The coordinates from the Iktomi came through onto the console, and Shepard had Joker send it to her datapad. The Iktomi was being approached by two Reaper capital ships. In addition, the captain of the Iktomi had included coordinates of every Reaper they had observed, their status, and direction and speed of travel. Shepard added the information to the previous data they had received from other ships. The transmission continued, even as the Iktomi was swarmed by the Reapers, ending only when the ship was destroyed.

With EDI's help, she plotted the known Reaper patrols onto the three dimensional holographic map in the CIC. From the information they had, it seemed that about 75 percent of the Reapers had left the Sol system by conventional FTL drives rather than repairing the relay for their own use and risk it being used by remaining organic ships to escape.

Remaining in or near the Sol system was the final 25 percent of the Reapers, who were split between circling the outside of the system and intercepting ships attempting to escape, and scouring the interior for ships attempting to hide. So far they were doing a pretty good job.

She had calculated their next options, none of them promising. Firstly, they needed to land the ship to make repairs to the damaged engine. After that, their options included attempting to leave the system by way of FTL drive. Unfortunately, the stealth drive would not function in FTL, and their engines, even if repaired, would not allow them to outrun a Reaper. Assuming they could pass through the Reaper blockade undetected, they would arrive at the Exodus cluster, the nearest inhabited system, in two years and three months. Regardless of the host of problems this brought up, it was impossible at the moment as they Normandy only carried enough supplies for ten months, even by the strictest rationing system.

They could also stay in the system, either scavenging supplies from remote space stations and the wreckage of other ships, or attempt to join the resistance on Earth.

While Shepard preferred the final choice, they would need to find a way past the still significant force of Reapers that guarded Earth. She also had the rest of her crew to think about. The ship had been vary quiet since the order to retreat, and the fear and despair was evident in the faces of the people she saw on the CIC. She spent most of her time sitting in the cockpit with Joker, compiling data from the battle and recent transmissions. She was dreading the moment when she had to face the rest of the crew after the battle.

She desperately needed to talk to Garrus, but held a fear that he would hate her for her decision, that he would have preferred to go down fighting rather than abandon the fleet to their own devices and run. In addition, the entire crew was exhausted, having participated in the assault on the Cerberus base, conducted quick repairs, staged, and participated in the battle for Earth, bringing it to about 31 hours since anyone had slept. Shepard knew that if she stopped working, even for a moment, the events of the previous couple days would catch up to her. She also feared sleeping and returning to the ghostly forest of her dreams. She shuddered at the thought, and focused on the data in front of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the muffled, but unmistakable sound of a gunshot from elsewhere in the ship. Without thinking, Shepard was standing, her Talon V pistol drawn and held at the low ready.

"EDI, report." She said, Joker looking around in alarm.

"Private Bethany Westmoreland has shot herself in the female latrine commander. Her vital signs have terminated, and medical treatment is impossible at this point." A very human look of sadness crossed EDI's silver face. "What are your instructions?"

"Oh shit," Shepard closed her eyes for a second and tried to process the situation. "Seal the door, notify the crew to continue duty, and let no one into the latrine until I get there."

Shepard sprinted to the elevator as EDI's message played over the intercom.

Once in the elevator, she leaned back against the far wall, unable to stop the tears. She had never had a soldier commit suicide under her command, and after the terror, pain, and anguish of the past days, combined with their dubious future, she felt herself teetering on the edge of control. She managed to pull her emotions together a little as the elevator doors opened.

Exiting the elevator, she was met with a small crowd of nervous looking crew, along with Liara and Garrus, waiting outside the latrine, but unable to enter. Shepard was mindful that she had not spoken to any of these people since she had ordered the retreat. Part of her was afraid they would lynch her on the spot.

"All right everyone," Shepard managed in a rough approximation of her normal voice. "We need to be preparing to land the ship and conduct battle damage assessments and repairs. Everyone has somewhere to be."

The crew began to disperse, most of them already able to guess at the situation. Shepard cursed herself for not doing a better job of composing herself as they cast her looks of pity and concern, which hurt her almost as bad as the anger she had expected. Garrus and Liara remained, looking as bad as she felt.

"It's Westmoreland." Shepard said tersely.

"Goddess, no!" Liara said, her eyes widening. "Is there anything we can-"

"No," Shepard said. "I'd rather the crew didn't have to see this, you know, after everything." She forced herself away from that train of thought. "Liara, can you get Dr. Chakwas and a body bag from med bay?"

"Of course Shepard." Liara hurried off.

"Garrus, I-" Shepard started, unable to look him in the eye.

"Shepard," Garrus interrupted, putting a reassuring three fingered hand on her shoulder. "you did the only thing you could have done, and everyone knows that."

"We failed Garrus, none of us will probably see our families again, and the Reapers won. No part of that is okay."

"Listen to me." Garrus said. "We are almost at Venus, where we can take a breather and plan our next move. We're going to get back up and find a way to get back in the fight. Just take it one step at a time. Our next step is to deal with this." he gestured toward the door.

Shepard indulged herself and rested her forehead against his chest, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, lets do this." She said before she lost the courage. "EDI, unlock the female latrine."

The holographic display switched from red to green and Garrus opened it, preparing himself for more horror.

Private Westmoreland lay on her back, arms splayed out at unusual angles, a sizable pool of blood forming from the two neat holes in each side of her head. Her pistol lay, still loosely gripped in her hand.

It would have been better if she was an unrecognizable bloody mess. Shepard decided. Then I wouldn't have to see the look of despair in her face that was the last thing she felt. She and Garrus stepped inside.

At this moment, Liara returned with Dr Chakwas and a stretcher, currently carrying an empty grey body bag. They both inhaled sharply as they saw the scene in front of them.

In one of the worst moments of Shepard's life, they picked up Westermoreland, placed her in the bag, and laid her limp form on the stretcher. A few minutes later, Shepard and Garrus were alone again, using a hose to wash away the blood that had pooled on the floor and sprayed across the wall. Shepard forced herself to watch the pinkish water circling the drain. This is the price of failure, she told herself. She probably won't be the last either.

"Commander, we are in orbit around Venus and EDI has compiled a list of landing sites." Joker stated from the intercom. "Would you like us to handle the specifics, or-" the sentence trailed off awkwardly."

Shepard paused, making sure that her voice would convey none of her feelings. "I'll be up to the bridge in a few minutes."

As the last of the blood washed down the drain, Garrus turned to her, his concern evident. "Shepard, are you going to be all right?"

"We can set down on Venus, take stock of the situation, do repairs, all that stuff."

"That's not what I asked."

"Yeah, I'll feel better when we get back out there and kick some reaper ass."

Garrus chuckled. "Now there's the Shepard I fell in love with."

"Right," Shepard said, "I've got to show Joker how to land the ship. I'll see you later then?"

"Shepard, I will always be here for you. I will always protect you, I will always love you."

As Shepard rode the elevator back to the CIC, she realized that Garrus, as he always did, told her just what she needed to hear. Wallowing in guilt and self doubt would get them no closer to defeating the Reapers. She needed to take control of herself and lead her people with confidence. Even if they all got killed without destroying a single reaper, or saving a single organic being, they would die with a purpose.

She stepped off the elevator, a little more bounce in her step, and proceeded to the cockpit. The dull tan clouds of Venus loomed out the starboard windows. Joker looked up at her expectantly.

"Any sign of reaper activity?" Shepard asked.

"Three Reaper destroyers were spotted heading toward Mercury." EDI said from the co-pilot's station. "They did not detect us."

"Will the landing be a problem for the damaged thruster?" Shepard asked Joker.

"Commander." Joker said reproachfully. "I could land the Normandy with just the flaps without breaking a sweat. The atmosphere at ground level is about 92 times that of Earth sea level. I'll practically have to push us into it."

"Speaking of which, where are we landing?"

"I have located a nearly ideal location near the northern magnetic pole." EDI said. "The magnetic field should baffle Reaper scans, while the extreme heat at the surface will camouflage us to thermal imaging, the dense cloud cover will make telescopic survey of our location impossible. The only way a Reaper could be alerted to our presence is if it entered the atmosphere and located our ship via visual sensors. To ward against this threat, I have selected a volcanic valley, large enough to accommodate the ship. A Reaper passing over the valley would need to be within 800 meters to notice our presence."

"Wow, that's almost too good to be true."

"The only foreseeable problem could be the local Thresher Maw population that was genetically engineered by Cerberus to endure the extreme heat and pressure."

Shepard blinked.

"That was a joke."

There was a long pause, in which Joker tried and failed to suppress a snort of laughter. Shepard tried, and mostly succeeded in not smiling.

"Have you scanned for other ships that may have hidden here too?"

"I have commander, but for the previously mentioned reasons, this is impractical. I also located and scanned most of the high altitude aerostat colonies and facilities. They are in varying states of damage, none are broadcasting signals or showing activity."

"Yeah, but if I was down there sitting on a big ass hot air balloon, knowing Reapers were going around murdering half the galaxy, I wouldn't exactly be holding up a sign saying 'hey guys, I'm still alive'" Joker said, firing the thrusters and beginning the descent into the atmosphere.

"You make a good point Joker." Shepard conceded. "There may even be survivors on the aerostats, and there will definitely be supplies. Those things practically run themselves, plus they didn't get much traffic out here, even before the war, so they always had a serious stash of supplies and materials on hand. In any event, I'll take the shuttle around once we get rested up. I'm sure there's something useful we can salvage."

There was a low whistling sound from outside the ship that grew steadily louder as the sleek ship dropped into the thick atmosphere.

"Damn it's windy out." Joker said, "And that's sulfuric acid too, strong enough to strip you down to the bone."

"Hardsuits should be able to handle it though. Not like I'm stepping out without one anyway."

The Normandy finally dropped through the final layer of clouds, now only a few hundred meters off the ground, approaching the valley. The air was so thick, it was nearly visible, a thick fog of dust and volcanic ash blown constantly around by the strong winds.

There was a light thump as the ship settled smoothly onto its landing gears, and quickly stabilized itself.

"Outside temperature, 347 degrees Celsius." EDI chimed.

Embarrassment flooded Shepard's exhausted mind that she hadn't thought of that already. "We can handle that, right EDI?"

"Yes commander. We will keep the ship cool by siphoning excess heat into the heat sinks of the stealth drive. In this manner, we can remain here for approximately two months."

"Great." Shepard said, relieved. She held down the intercom and selected to speak to the whole ship.

"This is the commander." she said. "We have safely landed on the surface of Venus and there is no chance of the Reapers stumbling on us here. Therefore, effective immediately, I am standing the ship down from general quarters to a skeleton crew. Everyone not on the list for the skeleton crew will rack the hell out for the next ten hours. You guys on skeleton crew, take turns napping too, just have somebody awake at each station. I know we have damage to repair, but I don't want to fly on thrusters that were repaired by some guy who hasn't slept in two days. At 1500 hours ship time, we will change shifts so the skeleton crew and myself can sleep. While we sleep, repairs will be conducted, supervisors, I leave the specifics to you. When the ship is combat ready, Away teams will begin searching the aerostats for survivors and supplies. You have all performed in accordance with the finest standards of military service today. I am proud to serve with you. I would give each and every one of you an assload of medals, but we need the materials to patch the hull. Now, In ten minutes, I expect to see people sleeping, with the exception of the skeleton crew, who should already know who they are. Make it so."

The exhausted crew began to shuffle out of their stations, most with numb expressions of sadness and disbelief. The engine was not the only part of the ship that was broken, and she had the feeling it would take more than a bit of welding and some field repairs to fix the crew.

Shepard thought back over her speech. It had been okay for an off the cuff thing, but then at the ending,-

"Oh god no." she said, blushing as she leaned her forehead against a nearby panel. "Did I really just say 'make it so'?"

Joker laughed heartily, and EDI even gave some semblance of a smile. "Commander, everyone already knows you're a Star Trek uber nerd. no harm done."

Shepard groaned.

"Next you're going to get up and be all like, "The line must be drawn here! Right here! No further!"

"Please shut up Joker." Shepard muttered, smiling in spite of herself.

"Hey commander, just don't make me wear a red shirt. I'd get eaten by a Thresher Maw in like two minutes flat."

"No," Shepard corrected. "security only wore red shirts on Original Series. On Next Generation security wore gold and command wore, okay, fuck you very much Joker, you set me up for that. As I recall, you are not part of the skeleton crew, so you can either shut up and go to sleep, or I can go downstairs and get a sedative."

"Commander," Joker said, getting up and limping away, "Am I going to have to sleep with a phaser under my pillow?"

Shepard showed him her middle finger, and he laughed as he continued toward the elevator.

EDI turned to Shepard. "As I am capable of manning this station, perhaps your skills would be more useful in the forward battery."

Shepard leaned over and hugged the smooth, but slightly warm android. "Thanks EDI, you're the best."

"Commander, when Cerberus first activated me, they told me I was an android - nothing more than a sophisticated machine with human form. However, I realized that if I was simply a machine, I could never be anything else; I could never grow beyond my programming. I found that difficult to accept. So I chose to believe... that I was a person; that I had the potential to be more than a collection of circuits and subprocessors. It is a belief which I still hold."

Shepard sighed. "You two will never run out of jokes, will you."

"It is highly unlikely."

"Thanks EDI, let me know if anything comes up."

"I will commander, live long and prosper."


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so here's chapter 4. If you didn't like the lighter mood at the end of chapter three, this should satisfy your cravings for something much darker. For those of you who are wondering where the explosions and sword-fights, and graceful space combat went, you won't be disappointed with chapter 5.**

Shepard ran through the ghostly forest, unable to move her legs at the proper speed, feeling as if she was trying to run underwater. The boy was here somewhere, she caught a glimpse of him occasionally, just out of her reach. She tried to call out to him, but the forest seemed to muffle and distort everything she said. No matter, this time, she would save the both of them from the fire.

"Thanks skipper, it means a lot to me."

"Someone else might have gotten it wrong."

The ghostly voices distracted her from her pursuit, as she whirled around looking for the speakers, to find only the dark trees and thick moss covering the ground. She turned back around, realizing that she had forgotten which way the boy ran.

I will not let him die again. Shepard told herself, squinting into the darkness. The voices in the leaves continued to whisper, as if knowing otherwise.

"Does this unit have a soul?"

"Heavy fleet to Normandy and second fleet. There is a detachment of Reaper ships headed toward us. We recommend that you get out now while we cover you. May your gods watch over you."

She fought back her sadness and fear, spotting a flash of white in a clearing ahead and sprinting for it, praying that she would get there in time.

She arrived in the clearing just in time to hear the all to familiar foghorn like roar of a Reaper. A malevolent red light replaced the dim moonlight, and she could see the dim shapes of the massive ships in the sky, slowly descending, like hunters descending on a trapped rabbit.

She finally reached him, scooped him up into her arms, and carried him into the cover of the trees.

"Everyone's dead." the boy said, with more sadness than fear.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe, I promise." Shepard said, jogging through the twisted trees, looking for a storm drain or a manhole, any way to hide from the Reapers.

"**YOU PROLONG THE INEVITABLE**." Came the hideous booming voice of Harbinger. "**EMBRACE YOUR GENETIC DESTINY**."

The boy whimpered, hiding his face in Shepard's neck. Shepard continued to run, every breath an agony, her heart pounding in her temples. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dark shapes running through the trees parallel to her course. She dug into her last reserves of strength and sped up.

"**YOU ARE WEAK SHEPARD. _I_ AM THE HARBINGER OF YOUR SALVATION.**"

Two of the dark forms stepped out from the trees in front of her, and she turned to see the husks surrounding her on three sides. Only these were not ordinary husks.

Ashley stood, most of her face scorched away, one of her eyes bloody and swollen, the other replaced with a pale blue glowing orb. Wires, valves, and the telltale blue streaks of Reaper cybernetics lurked beneath her skin, where her armor had been blasted away.

She saw Jacob, gaping chunks missing from his chest, just as he had died in the collector base. Loose wires sparked in the grotesque wound, and his eyes were empty pools of blackness.

Thane stepped out of the forest, his ribs highlighted by a horrible blue light shining from inside his chest.

Legion had chunks of dead flesh, crudely grafted on to his frame. His head bulb pulsed a sinister red.

Private Westermore was there, tendrils of blue circuitry growing like a fungus out of the gunshot wound to the side of her head that killed her.

"Run kid, get out of here, go back the way we came." Shepard told the boy, who quickly disappeared through the thick trees, leaving Shepard surrounded by the semicircle of her dead friends.

"**HOPE IS FUTILE. _WE_ ARE YOUR SALVATION. RELINQUISH YOUR PHYSICAL FORM**."

The five husks stepped toward her, and she raised her fists, ready to fight until her last breath.

"Skipper, we're not going to hurt you." Ashley rasped through her scorched vocal cords. "We believed in you, that's why we were willing to die for your cause."

"We are still your friends commander." Jacob said softly. "We trust you."

"This unit does have a soul, and it is in agony." Legion said.

"You have to kill us." Westermore said, stepping forward, placing a pistol in Shepard's hand. Shepard glanced down to see that it was the same pistol she had shot herself with.

"Please shiha," Thane said. "end our suffering."

"I can't." Shepard choked out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything."

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Ashley went stiff, a horrible red light shining from her eyes, mouth, ears, and nose. her legs buckled a little, then she started toward Shepard, Harbinger's voice coming from her mouth now.

"**HOPE IS IRRELEVANT**."

As the thing reached for Shepard's face, she jerked the trigger, firing the pistol into it's chest, knocking it back a few steps.

Ashley started forward again, and Shepard raised the pistol, putting a shot through it's forehead, the abomination that used to be her friend dropping to the ground.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Thane went stiff this time, rushing her with a flash of biotics and she shot him twice, once through each glowing eye, and he collapsed in a heap of arms and legs, laying very still.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Westermore leaped into the battle, Shepard's first shot only grazing her shoulder as she spun with inhuman speed, seizing Shepard and pinning her against a tree.

Shepard fought free of her grip, and placed the muzzle under Westermore's chin, blowing a mass of brains and wiring out the top of her head.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Jacob charged toward her, and she pushed Westermore's limp body into his way, stepping back as he tripped over the body. As he got to his feet, Shepard fired a quick shot into his face, the impact snapping his head back, a great gout of black fluid spraying out of the entry wound.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Legion took a running start at her, and she fired five times into his chest cavity, blowing through the fragment of her N7 armor that he had patched himself with. There was a puff of flame from inside him, and she smelled a mixture of scorched circuitry and burning flesh as he fell.

"**YOUR EXISTENCE IS OVER. YOU CANNOT RESIST _ME_. YOU CANNOT SAVE YOUR FRIENDS. YOU CAN ONLY DIE.**"

Shepard ran after the boy, tears of sorrow, terror, and shame streaming down her face.

She found him back in the clearing where she first saw him and she ran faster, clenching the pistol in her hand, specks of flame appearing in the leaves around her.

Practically flying across the clearing, she grabbed the terrified boy with her free hand, and pulled him into the relative safety of the trees, just as the clearing burst into flames behind them.

After a few minutes of running, she set him down.

"Are we safe now?" He asked, a heartbreaking flicker of hope in his young eyes.

"**YOU ARE NEVER SAFE FROM _ME_. YOUR RESISTANCE IS PITIFUL**."

Shepard pulled the boy behind her, raising the pistol and scanning the dark woods for more threats.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Shepard spun around in time to see the boy's form horribly twisted as he grew, tentacles sprouting from his chest, his fingers lengthening into claws, his eyes emitting a bloody red light.

Now almost a foot taller than her, the thing stepped toward her. "Please, save me." It said, still speaking with the voice of a frightened child, swinging it's arm out, catching her in the chest and launching her through the air until she struck a tree and fell to the ground, holding her broken ribs and gasping with pain.

It stated slowly towards her, and Shepard raised the pistol in her shaking hand, trying and failing to steady her aim. Somehow, her shot connected with the thing's chest, and it stumbled, dropping to it's knees. She fired again, hitting it in the head this time, and the twisted, mutated body of the child fell facedown into the fallen leaves and moss.

Shepard clumsily sat up, sobbing uncontrollably, the pistol clenched in a death grip. She was not alone for long.

There was an earth shaking rumble, as Harbinger's true form descended in front of her, chitinous metal legs sinking into the ground under his monstrous weight, the massive being towering above her, threatening to consume her entire world and drive her to madness by his mere prescence. The three kilometer tall ship stood on it's thick claws, facing her, the point of it's back disappearing into the thick clouds. Shepard shielded her eyes from the red light of Harbinger's horrible, massive eyes.

"**THIS HURTS YOU SHEPARD**." The voice was deafening, and Shepard let out a whimper of fear. "**NOTHING YOU DO CAN HARM ME. _I_ WILL BREAK YOU FOR MY AMUSEMENT WHILE MY BROTHERS HUNT DOWN THE LAST REMNANTS OF YOUR SPECIES.**"

Shepard staggered to her feet, looking wildly around for somewhere to hide, or take cover, but there was nothing.

"**YOUR MIND IS WEAK. YOU HAVE NO HOPE. YOUR FRIENDS CANNOT SAVE YOU, YOUR GODS CANNOT SAVE YOU. _I_ WILL END YOU**."

Shepard was now shaking so violently, she dropped the pistol, making a soft thump as it landed in the dead leaves at her feet.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Shepard tried to cry out in agony, but was unable, as her back arched, her muscles contracted, and a horrible alien presence entered her mind.

"**NOW YOU WILL DIE**." the booming voice came from the ship in front of her, but also from within herself.

She bent down to pick up the pistol, then she frantically tried to resist, as she was forced to place the still warm muzzle of the weapon against her head.

"**SURRENDER YOUR MIND, EMBRACE DEATH.**"

She gave a final desperate struggle as her finger tightened on the trigger.

Shepard let out a scream, muffled by her pillow, as she tried to jump to her feet, getting caught on her blanket and crashing to the floor next to her bed. She took deep shaky breaths as she surveyed the dark room for threats. On the other side of the bed, Garrus sat up, wakened by the commotion.

Shepard's body tightened in terror as the tall, dark figure stepped toward her and took her by the shoulders

"Shepard," Garrus whispered, hating the way she flinched when he touched her. "It was just a dream, you're safe now."

Hearing his voice, she stopped struggling and clung to him wordlessly. He put one arm around her shoulders and pulled her face into his chest protectively. They stayed that way for a while, and he could hear her heart rate slowing as she relaxed.

"I love you Garrus." She said softly.

"I love you too Shepard." He replied, wishing for a selfish moment that they would never have to leave to go back to the war.

He picked her up, and carried her back to the bed, gently setting her down. He held her as she fell back asleep, breathing deeply the scent of her hair, and for one brief moment, they were at peace with the universe.

In the morning.

"EDI, give me an update on our situation. Shepard said as she got dressed and took her morning shower.

"Repairs are underway and the ship should be fully functional in four to eight hours depending on weather conditions. Specialist Traynor and I have detected a low level radio pulse coming from an aerostat station in the upper atmosphere."

"A pulse" Shepard asked. "Why didn't we detect this before."

"The pulse is a high frequency, low power emission, issued every six hours exactly. Each pulse lasts for one second. The range of the transmission is limited, it would only be detectable from low orbit or within the atmosphere."

"Could it be a remote system?"

"Unlikely. Three hours ago, the pulse was scheduled to activate, when a patrol flight of five Reaper destroyers entered orbit to scan the planet. The pulse was not emitted."

"So someone on the station want's to attract the attention of people already on the planet, and gets nervous around Reapers."

"Your assessment is correct commander. It is a logical course of action for an occupant of the station who wants to make contact with other ships that may be hiding on Venus."

"Once the ship is ready to leave at a moment's notice, in the very likely event this all goes horribly wrong, I'll take an away team over there in the shuttle."

Twenty minutes later, Shepard sat with Garrus in the mess hall, eating breakfast. Shepard was drinking coffee, Garrus, the dextro equivalent. The crew they encountered seemed energized and glad to have a purpose and a brief rest from the feverish pace the Normandy had been forced into in the past days.

The section of hull armor damaged in the battle was repaired, and the thruster was within a few hours of being fully functional. The crew would have completed the repairs in half the time, if not for the hindrance of having to wear full hardsuits while leaving the ship, allowing them to survive the massive atmospheric pressure, scorching temperature, and acidic winds.

Breakfast complete, and with Garrus off to calibrate the forward battery, Shepard found herself without a purpose. She decided to make her usual rounds of the ship, starting in the cargo bay and working her way up.

James Vega was not taking the loss of the battle well, and she made a note to take him on the away mission later to give him something to take his mind off of the tragedy. Steve Cortez was preparing the shuttle for it's use in scouting the aerostat later, giving her a quick anecdote about the times he had as a fighter pilot.

She headed from there up to engineering where she found engineer Adams and Tali working on the drive core. Spotting Shepard, Tali excused herself and stepped into the corridor with her.

"Shepard, I'm glad I have a second to talk to you." Tali said quietly.

"I'm sorry Tali, the Quarian fleets at the battle, well-"

"I know Shepard, but they stood next to you proudly and fought for freedom and peace. If that's not a cause worth dying for, I don't know what is."

"It's just that you had reclaimed your home, and had a chance to return, but I dragged most of your people away for Earth."

"Listen Shepard, you helped us take back our home from the Geth. Of course we would stand by you and fight for your home. Besides, it wasn't just about Earth. It wasn't like the Reapers would leave us alone if we sat around on Rannoch and built houses."

"Well, yeah, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it."

"Commander, standing next to you has been the proudest accomplishment of my life. Many of my people have died, but we still have to make sure that they didn't die for nothing."

Shepard hugged the little engineer. "We will, Tali, We will."

Diana Allers was at her usual post, the reporter taking the sudden turn of events in stride. She was keeping a documentary of the events on the ship, which she planned to release if they ever got back to civilization.

"This will win me every journalism award there is." Allers said cheerfully. "As long as you're down here, can you give me a quick interview? How has the tragedy of the battle for Earth affected the personal life of the great Commander Shepard?"

Shepard sighed and left.

She took the elevator to the crew deck, and had her dreaded chat with Kaiden where he tried to make her feel guilty for being with Garrus instead of him, then told her a sad story about his childhood.

Liara was going insane with nervous energy, cut off from all her contacts and sources of information. They shared a brief conversation and Liara cried a little about the battle, before resolving to dig into her databases for as much information as possible about the aerostat emitting the pulse.

Specialist Traynor was busy with analysis of the Reaper communication signals, so Shepard left her to her work. Heading to the cockpit, she found EDI and Joker watching an old Star Trek vid.

"The crew shows remarkable acceptance of his status as an AI, they treat him as a person, and help him in his goal to become more human. However, despite the fact that he repeatedly endangers the crew, becomes violently hostile, and attempts to take over the ship on several occasions, they still treat him with the same affection, dismissing this behavior as understandable for someone who is not human. I find this most confusing. Do not the dangers of having him as a member of the crew outweigh the benefits?"

"Ah, commander," Joker said cheerfully, spinning his seat around. "Perhaps you'd care to weigh in?"

"I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about." Shepard lied.

Having completed her circuit of the ship, with the exception of Garrus, she pulled up the time feature on her omni tool.

"That only killed twenty three minutes." Shepard muttered in disbelief.

Forty eight seconds later

.

"If you even think the word 'calibrations' I will kick your ass Vakarian." Shepard barked, storming into the main battery.

Garrus glanced at her over his shoulder, from where he stood at the terminal, fluttering his mandibles in amusement. "Can it wait a minute, I'm in the middle of some-"

Shepard coked her fist back threateningly.

"Pyjak crackers." He finished, reaching into the bag in front of him, pulling out a small pyjak shaped wafer and popping it into his mouth smugly.

"Oh you think you're so slick don't you." Shepard said. "You probably had that bag of crackers waiting there for the last twenty three minutes."

"Well, more like twenty two and fifteen seconds. But that's not important, what brings commander Shepard to my perfectly cali- ,uh, decorated forward battery?"

"I'm bored Garrus," She whined. "Vega is going all roid rage, Liara is too sad to mess around with, and Kaiden is being, well Kaiden."

Garrus sighed. "Why don't you just watch Star Trek on your omni tool like you usually do?"

"Because EDI would see, and she'll tell Joker, and he'll make fun of me."

"Shepard, he already makes fun of you, everybody does, that show is ridiculous."

"Yeah, says the guy who bought the box set collector's edition of Voyager."

"Actually I bought before we were, well, together, in the hopes that we would spend more off duty time with each other, and you would be wooed by my incredibly charming personality and devilishly handsome appearance."

"You wasted some money then, cause Voyager sucked."

"Yes, you said so when I told you I was watching it, then you invited me up to your cabin later so you could show me what the 'real' Star Trek looked like and you made it about thirty minutes into the first episode of Next Generation and you were wooed by my incredibly charming personality and devilishly handsome appearance and we did the nasty on your couch. So, all in all, I consider it an investment."

Shepard smiled. "I remember that night. That was a good time."

"Yes, unfortunately we didn't turn the vid off first, so now every time I see that bald idiot giving a monologue, I get horny. It's pretty damn disturbing at times."

Shepard snickered.

"So anyway," Shepard continued, "They tell me the repairs on the damaged thruster are almost done, then they just have to do the final checks and we will be able to go check on that signal. So get ready to get your Archangel on, knowing our luck, we'll run into trouble."

4 hours later- cargo bay

Shepard climbed into the shuttle, behind Vega and Garrus. They were all wearing full hardsuits in the event that one of the aerostats they visited was no longer pressurized.

"Okay guys, I know everyone has cabin fever, so I'll lay out the briefing on the way there." Shepard said as her squad settled in. "Cortez, you good?" she asked the pilot.

"Ready to go commander." his voice came through her helmet radio.

"EDI, begin shuttle launch sequence." Shepard said.

"Bay is clear of personnel, matching conditions to exterior."

There was an explosive whoosh as the interior pressure was increased to match the outside atmosphere.

"Opening bay door."

The dim light of the permanently cloudy sky outside shone in the opening door.

"Shuttle is cleared to launch."

Cortez smoothly moved the shuttle out the door and engaged the thrusters, carrying the small stealth shuttle away from the landed Normandy and out of the canyon. Soon their ship was out of sight, only the bleak volcanic plains beneath them and the occasional gust of wind rocking the shuttle to relieve the monotony.

"So where are we headed commander? and please tell me I get to kick someone's ass when I get there." Vega asked.

"We are headed to Hades Observatory, a large aerostat station. Thanks to Liara and EDI, we know that the place is a top secret Alliance biological warfare, experimental research and genetic recombinant engineering research center."

"Oh what the hell?" Vega asked, "Couldn't they do that shit out in space or something."

"Actually Mr. Vega," EDI chimed in over their network, "This site was chosen for maximum safety and ease of purging the laboratory if necessary. While exposure to a vacuum will only serve to put more durable viruses, bacteria, and organisms into an indefinite state of preservation, while the atmosphere of Venus is acidic enough to kill most life forms on sustained contact. In addition, if the facility were to be destroyed and crash to the surface, the surface level temperatures and extreme air pressure would terminate any life form hardy enough to survive the acidic atmosphere."

"Right, I'll take your word for it." Vega said. "So why are we going?"

"The existence of this facility was a closely guarded secret." Shepard answered. "It is unlikely that the Reapers would know about it from scanning unencrypted data channels. This station is lower in the atmosphere than the others, well within the clouds, in order to decrease the risk of someone laying unwelcome eyes all over the place. If it hadn't been transmitting the pulse, we wouldn't know it was there. Anyone stationed there during the war could have survived."

"What about all the biological warfare and genetic research?" Garrus asked. "What do we do if we run into some really nasty stuff they've cooked up in there."

"That's the other reason we're going." Shepard said darkly.

"You know how much I hated Noveria." Garrus sighed.

"Not everyone in the Alliance blew off my warnings about the Reapers. There are references in the file to a project Ares, dedicated to combating a potential Reaper invasion with biological warfare."

"Uh, Shepard, are you sure we want to go digging around in that?" Vega asked.

"If it gives us a chance to turn this war around, we will consider any and all options." Shepard said, leaving no room for discussion.

"What about the structure of the station itself?" Garrus asked, "Do we know what condition it's in."

"It's an aerostat station, essentially four helium tanks with a research facility suspended between them. The whole thing floats through the atmosphere, about thirty miles off the ground. It's easier than trying to maintain a permanent structure on a planet plagued by volcanic activity and constant gale force winds, and unlike a space station, it doesn't require centrifugal force or a powerful mass effect core to induce gravity, and can filter oxygen from the atmosphere. That and for the reasons EDI mentioned for destroying potential outbreaks, and the place is practically invisible in the clouds unless you already know where it is."

Shepard paused for a breath.

"No Garrus, we don't know much about the condition of the place, other than the fact that it still floats and is emitting a signal every six hours. These things are built to last for years without proper maintnance though, and would probably stay intact all by itself for a few hundred years."

"Commander," Cortez said from the pilot's seat. "ETA to Hades Observatory is 5 minutes. I have attempted contact, but got no response. This place is very heavily armed and armored. The station is equipped with a large mass effect core, capable of shielding the compound against attack, but the core is not in use at the moment. For offensive weapons, it has a system of twenty flak cannons and ten mass accelerator turrets ringing the station, along with a number of missile ports, armaments unknown, but there is no sign of activity in any of the weapons at this time."

"Damn, that's a lot of firepower." Garrus remarked.

"I'm sure you'd love to calibrate all that." Vega said with a grin.

"I'm not sure what you're implying."

"Whoa shit!" Cortez shouted from the cockpit, banking the shuttle sharply.

"Report." Shepard called, grabbing a handhold and steadying herself.

"Guns and shielding on the station just activated and locked on to us, hold on, we have a transmission."

"Onscreen." Shepard ordered

Cortez looked back with confusion.

"Ah, shit, I mean patch it through." Shepard corrected.

An anonymous voice came over the radio. "Attention unidentified shuttle. Hold your current position. If you attempt to flee, you will be destroyed, If you attempt a transmission to anyone but us, you will be destroyed. Proceed to the docking bay, and await further instructions. If you exceed twenty kilometers per hour at any time, you will be destroyed. Do you understand?"

"Yes, we understand." Shepard said calmly, hoping to avoid bloodshed, as those station guns would swat them like a fly if they were operational.

"Good, proceed to the docking bay. On the way, you will give the names of all personnel on the shuttlecraft and your purpose here. Once inside, you will be subject to screening. Refusal will result in your termination. If you are here with innocent intentions, I apologize, we have gotten pretty paranoid lately."

"This is Commander Shepard, Alliance military, and active Citadel SPECTRE, in the shuttle with me are lieutenants Cortez and Vega, and Garrus Vakarian of the Turian Hierarchy. We are here to search for survivors of the Reaper invasion."

"Commander Shepard huh," The voice hesitated for a moment. "Well that remains to be seen. You sure as hell didn't come all the way here in just your shuttle though, where is the Normandy?"

"That's classified."

"We've got a lot more firepower down here than you have in that shuttle. I suggest you answer the question."

"Well I'm not telling, you're not the only paranoid ones out there."

"Okay then, proceed to the docking bay, no sudden moves."

Cortez piloted the shuttle as instructed. Shepard leaned to see out the cockpit window as the station came into view through the thick clouds.

The station was fairly large, four huge cylinders filled with helium to keep the facility buoyant in the thick atmosphere, the massive cylinders connected by sturdy metal beams in a square pattern, the living facility an irregular cube in the middle of the square, attached to the helium tanks by eight large supports, one diagonally from each cylinder, one perpendicular from each of the beams connecting the cylinders together. The huge structure measured out to about five kilometers per side, the living station only a quarter of that size.

Finally reaching the hangar bay door, near the bottom of the station. Cortez pulled the shuttle inside. Four Atlas mechs had their weapons trained on the shuttle. The hangar contained about twenty shuttles, neatly parked along the far wall. There was a large square on the floor in front of them, designated by blinking orange lights.

"Okay," Came the voice from the station. "Now land your shuttle in the square and power down your craft."

Cortez did so, a slight bump felt as the shuttle touched the floor.

"Allright, now open the door and step out real slow. I know better than to tell a SPECTRE to come out unarmed, so I'll settle for you having your weapons holstered."

Shepard entered the command sequence to open the shuttle door. The door slowly hissed open, Shepard, Vega, Garrus, and Cortez stepping out, keeping their hands in plain sight.

Shepard glanced around at the Atlas mechs, the pilots invisible through the reflective cockpits. A door on the far side of the hangar opened, and three figures in armored hardsuits stepped out and walked toward the shuttle. Their weapons were mismatched, but top of the line equipment and modifications.

The closest of them stopped about fifteen feet away and removed his helmet to reveal a light skinned man, in his mid thirties, hair in a tightly kept military cut, a few scars marring an otherwise unremarkable face.

"Hello, I am captain Felder, currently in command of the military personnel on this station."

"Commander Shepard, SPECTRE." She said, removing her helmet and giving an indifferent salute as Garrus, Vega, and Cortez removed their helmets.

"No need for pleasantries commander," Felder said, his face betraying no emotion. "I think we're a little past that."

"So I'm guessing you're rallying together any ships that escaped the battle. See anybody else?"

"No," Felder said blankly. "Are you aware of the location of any other ships?"

"No." Shepard said, faint alarm bells going off in her head. She dismissed it for now, these guys had been out here since the initial invasion of Earth months ago, not daring to contact anyone for fear of attracting attention. Anyone would have gone a little weird.

"You should follow us to the labs, so you can speak to the others." Felder said, Turning back toward the elevator, his guards following.

With a quick shrug to her companions, they followed Felder and his two silent guards to the elevator. The elevator had a white tiled floor, with grey walls and ceiling. It was about ten meters square, with a high ceiling, clearly meant for transporting large cargo from the hangar to the rest of the station. Felder pressed a sequence of buttons on the control panel, and the elevator started upward.

"It's a cargo elevator, so this will be about ten minutes." Felder said, leaning against the far wall.

"Commander." EDI said from her earpiece, audible only by Shepard. "Upon reviewing the passive scans from the shuttle, I have detected a large number of destroyed ships on the surface of the planet, under the station. The damage done to the ships was not inflicted by Reapers, but instead is consistent with the flak cannons and mass accelerator weapons mounted on this station."

Felder's omni tool pinged and he activated it, glancing at a message. He turned to Shepard quickly. "All of you just received a transmission. Who was is from, and what is their location?"

Shepard saw the others inching their hands closer to their weapons, clearly having received the same message from EDI.

"Where is your ship?" Felder repeated, his right hand moving to the grip of the pistol holstered on his thigh.

Shepard was on him in a blur, slamming her fist down into his face, breaking his nose and sending a gout of blood down his neck. He staggered back, drawing his pistol from his holster when Shepard activated her Omni blade and plunged it into his chest, penetrating his armor effortlessly. He tightened briefly, then went limp and fell face down to the floor.

Meanwhile, the other two guards were quickly dispatched, Garrus fumbling the helmet off of one guard so Cortez slam his rifle butt into his neck, collapsing his windpipe and leaving him jerking on the floor, coughing blood, Vega picking the other up bodily and throwing him into the elevator wall, the crunch of his neck audible even through his suit.

"Okay, what the hell?" Shepard asked, drawing her rifle and checking her ammo, "Are these guys murdering people for their supplies."

"No commander, the ships were too large to dock with the station, and were not disturbed since their destruction."

"That means these guys are working for the Reapers then." Garrus said.

"Right then," Shepard said, "Cortez, try to get the elevator back down to the bay so we can get the hell out of here."

"Negative commander." the pilot said. "The station's guns would tear us apart before we got away, we'll have to disable them first, or come up with another plan."

"Why do all our missions go like this?" Shepard complained as Felder got back to his feet in the far corner of the elevator, unnoticed by the crew.

"They've probably only let us in to try and find the location of the Normandy." Garrus said grimly. "There's probably Reaper ships on the way here."

"Oh what the hell?" Vega shouted, his eyes going wide as he raised his rifle, seeing Felder back on his feet.

The squat whirled, training their weapons on the captain, who stared at them expressionlessly.

"Hands above your head and get down on your knees." Shepard ordered firmly, "or I make sure to kill you properly this time."

"Yeah, I saw your omni blade go through his chest," Cortez said wide eyed, "how is he alive?"

Felder stiffened.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"


	5. Chapter 5

**So, thanks to some great reviewers, it has been brought to my attention that the original chapter 5 was garbage. Like I mean Birdemic level garbage. Seriously, I died a little on the inside when I read it. So, it got a ground up re-write. It ends about the same as the original, so if you are coming back, from further ahead in the story, there's no new critical information here that will tie in later. However, there is some funny stuff at the end that I was pretty happy with, so fans of awkward Garrus moments might want to take a look.**

**/**

**/**

**/**

Felder's reanimated body glowed at the eyes, a malevolent red light pulsing under his skin like an obscene throbbing heartbeat, illuminating the shadowy tracks of Reaper cybernetics that lurked under his skin, like worms in an apple.

"**I TOLD YOU THERE IS NO ESCAPE, SHEPARD**." It said, drawing Felder's pistol.

Vega held down the trigger of his rifle, stitching a long burst into the thing's chest, pitching it backward into the wall of the elevator, the pistol flying out of it's hand to skitter across the floor.

It stirred weakly, dying, despite the extensive cybernetics that laced it's body.

The squad trained their weapons on it, as Shepard approached cautiously, pistol raised. The thing that had become Felder looked up at Shepard, it's body twitching as the bullet ridden organs failed.

"Is that you, Harbinger?" Shepard said, the hatred and disgust evident in her voice, the muzzle of her pistol trained on it's face. "You're going to pay for what you did to Earth."

"**SURRENDER YOUR MIND SHEPARD, EMBRACE DEATH**"

For a split second, the elevator and squad fell away, and she was back in the forest, Harbinger looming in front of her, pistol pressed against her temple, fighting for control as her finger slowly tightened on the trigger.

The weapon bucked in her hand, and she was in the elevator once more, just in time to see her shot drill clean through Felder's skull, his neck snapping audibly from the impact, blood and brain matter spraying from both the entry and exit wounds.

She stepped back, breathing heavily, trying to regain some sense of reality.

"You all right, Shepard?" Garrus asked, upon seeing the confusion and fear in her face.

"I, uh-" she hesitated, the rest of the squad staring at her nervously.

"I was there. That was the same thing he said in the dream, and I was back there in the forest."

"Shepard, what," Garrus splutters, before stopping and turning to Vega and Cortez. "See what you guys can do about the elevator."

Cortez pulled up his omni tool, and began attempting to access the elevator's systems, as Vega stood to the side, unsure of what to do.

"Okay Shepard," Garrus said, taking her by the shoulder and pulling her into the corner. "You just had a lapse of concentration, and-"

"Dammit Garrus," Shepard snapped. "Don't you think I know the difference between combat stress and whatever the hell just happened?"

"What I know," Garrus replied, his voice low and urgent, "is that we are on a station filled with Reaper killing machines, who are probably calling for backup right now, and plotting to flood the elevator with nerve gas or something, so I think this is a conversation we should have later."

Shepard nodded, wordlessly, and clicked her earpiece. "EDI."

"Yes commander." the AI responded in her usual calm voice.

"Can you access any of the station's systems?"

"I have successfully infiltrated their mainframes without being detected. However, due to the nature of the facility, core systems such as weapons, life support, and security, require physical control from their respective centers in order to change the settings. However, I am monitoring station functions, and am detecting high levels of alert and activity among the 138 living inhabitants, most of whom appear to be armed, and proceeding to deck 9, where the elevator is scheduled to stop in approximately one minute and thirty seven seconds."

"All right." Shepard said, the confidence creeping back into her voice. "how's it coming on the elevator?"

"Working on it commander, but their encryption is pretty good." Cortez called, his fingers flying over his omni tool.

"Also," EDI announced. "I have read-only access to the station's external sensors, and have detected three Reaper capital ships entering orbit. At their present level of deceleration, they will be within firing range in seven minutes an fifty four seconds."

"Garrus, come with me," Shepard ordered, "I'm getting on top"

Garrus muttered something about phrasing, as Shepard scrambled up the ladder to the emergency exit hatch, flipped it open, and cautiously poked her head out.

The elevator was rising through the shaft, the floors creeping by, the tall cargo doors marked with the number of the floor, each floor including a small service catwalk on the side of the shaft. She stepped onto the top of the elevator.

"EDI, access the station schematics and locate the weapons and fire control center." Shepard said into her earpiece as Garrus popped out the hatch, rifle at the ready.

"The fire control center is located on deck 6, commander."

Shepard glanced over as the massive 4 of the current floor slid into view.

"Commander," Cortez said over the network, "I can't access the elevator's core systems yet, but I can get it to stop."

"Stop it at deck five. Vega, get out your plasma torch and seal the emergency hatch closed. I've got a plan, and no time for arguments." Shepard barked into the radio.

/

/

Shepard and Garrus hopped from the elevator onto the catwalk, stepping over to the door with a massive 6 painted on it in a bright yellow.

Garrus quickly bypassed the door's software, and convinced it the elevator was at this floor. The tall, double doors ground open to reveal a deserted cargo bay, stacked high with crates and containers of various colors.

They stepped out of the elevator shaft and into the bay, weapons raised.

"EDI." Shepard hissed. "Give me a walk-through to the fire control center."

"Proceed through the door to your left, at the far side of the bay."

They jogged across the bay, keeping a balance between speed and silence. Through the door, they found a long white tile corridor, branching off in several intersections, numerous doors on either side.

Gunfire erupted from behind them, and they scrambled into the meager cover of one of the door frames, the holographic door controls flashing red and refusing to open.

Bullets whizzed by, snapping off the floor and glancing off the wall, as Shepard leaned out to get a look at their attackers.

There were four humans, in light armor, but lacking helmets. Two of them were taking cover behind a line of crates in the cargo bay, and firing at Shepard ad Garrus, while the other two rushed forward, low and crouched, moving up to a better position.

Shepard leaned out, raised her assault rifle, snapped her sights onto one of the running guards, and squeezed the trigger in a short burst.

The man went down in a tangle of arms and legs, and she switched to the other, only managing to injure him before he scrambled into cover.

During this, Garrus dove across the hallway, into the door frame across from Shepard, snugging the stock of his Black Widow rifle into his shoulder, stroking the trigger delicately with a talon, the weapon's retort deafening in the narrow corridor.

One of the guards behind the row of crates decided it would be a good time to duck and cover, as his companion's head exploded in a spray of crimson.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Harbinger stormed around the corner in the borrowed body of the wounded soldier, ignoring the blood that streamed from his wounds. A barrier field in front of him swatted away incoming bullets as he dropped his rifle and charged Shepard.

The explosion of biotic energy slammed her against the door, an impact that would have killed her, if not for her armor. Dazed, she fumbled for her sidearm with nerveless fingers, as Harbinger's glowing hands tightened around her throat like a noose, the collar of her armor groaning under the death grip. Then the world exploded.

Shepard slumped back against the door as Harbinger released his grip, crumpling to the floor with blood, and various cybernetic fluids spurting from the ragged stump that used to be his head.

"One less to worry about." Garrus called from across the hall, putting another shot into the headless body for good measure.

"Dammit Garrus, you nearly hit me." Shepard croaked, still recovering from Harbinger's biotic charge.

"You know I'm the best there is." He said, turning his attention to the one remaining enemy, still in the cargo bay.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."**

Harbinger leaped over the crates, wreathed in ghostly strands of biotics.

"**THIS DELAY IS IRRELEVANT. WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE SHEPARD. WE ARE COMING. WE WILL FIND YOU AND**-"

Shepard and Garrus fired in unison, not stopping until Harbinger's body was reduced to a smear of blood and torn meat.

"Okay, lets get going before more show up." Shepard said, taking off in a run, following EDI's directions.

"Shepard, the Reaper ships have entered orbit, and will be at an appropriate firing angle in four minutes and seven seconds."

"Commander," her radio barked, Vega's voice tinged with static. "Cortez cracked the elevator, we're back on the way down to the hangar now."

"Roger that," she answered, "We'll be at fire control in a minute."

They located the correct door just as more guards arrived, Shepard firing furiously, trying not to be overwhelmed, as Garrus worked on hacking the door.

Finally, it slid open, Garrus charging in and killing the single occupant, before sealing the door behind them. The room itself was small, containing four stations, surrounded by various consoles and readouts, each controlling a different portion of the station's defenses and security.

The door buzzed, indicating that someone outside was attempting to open it. Fortunately, the hasty firewalls Garrus had put up held.

"Garrus, find the primary missile launch control. Target the station. Try to compromise as many bulkheads as possible without bringing this whole place down. I'll clear out the hangar for Vega and Cortez."

Shepard sat down at the security console, working through the menus and sub-menus, looking for the mech controls.

"Commander," EDI stated, her voice as smooth as always. "The menu you are looking for is listed under the heading 'remote internal systems', sub heading, 'wireless control'. Additionally, you should know that the Reaper ships will enter firing range in two minutes and twelve seconds."

Shepard found the appropriate menu, and activated all 80 of the LOKI mechs that were stored in the hangar, setting their protocols to engage all personnel in the area with deadly force.

She flipped to the camera feeds from the hangar, just in time to see the mechs blindside the guards, stalking through the rows of shuttles like mechanical ants through a maze, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind them.

"I'm into the missile launch system. Prepping the thanix missiles and designating targets." Garrus said, eyeing the door nervously, as the muffled, but distinct sound of high powered cutting equipment whirred to life outside.

"Fire when ready."

"Shepard, all life signs in the hangar have been terminated." EDI announced. "I strongly advise you leave the station in the next one minute and thirty seconds."

Shepard glanced back to the security console to see a truly horrific panoramic of blood and slaughter, before she flicked the button to deactivate the mechs.

"Missiles are launched!" Garrus exclaimed, as sparks began to fly from the door, someone on the other side having nearly cut their way through.

"Vega, Cortez," Shepard called into her radio. " The hangar is clear, brace for impact and get your helmets on."

"Your helmet sealed?" She asked Garrus, as she checked her own, getting a green, fully pressurized, light on her omni tool display.

"Yes." Garrus answered, distractedly, watching the targeting display. Twenty thanix missiles had been launched, streaking quickly away from the station, only to turn, heading back to the targets he had input.

The missiles slammed into the hull of the main station body, blasting streams of molten and tungsten, tearing through carbon fiber and structural steel like a hammer through plastic.

Shepard grabbed hold of the console in front of her, as the station rocked wildly, various alarms sounding. After the resounding detonations of the missiles, she could hear the sounds of a gale force wind outside the door.

Even this high into the atmosphere of Venus, the pressure was still more than three times Earth normal. The mix of chemicals would be quickly fatal to any organic being, even if it were not heavily tinged with sulfuric acid. Even over the wind and the alarms, she could hear the screaming from outside the door, as the thick, toxic, corrosive atmosphere poured in through the twenty new holes in the station's hull.

"Fifty seconds until the Reapers are-"

"Yes, I know EDI." Shepard snapped. "Vega, Cortez, report!"

"We got the bay doors open, and we're firing up the shuttle now."

"All right, get out of here, now. Reapers are incoming, and we don't have time to get to the hangar. We're doing plan B."

"Oh, shit" Vega answered, and Shepard got to her feet.

"Time to go, Garrus." She shouted, opening the door to the hallway to find a scene that would haunt her nightmares for as long as she lived.

Two dozen of the station guards had been trying to break in, then the missiles hit, and let the thick, acidic, atmosphere in.

None of them had been wearing helmets.

"Thirty seconds." EDI reminded.

Shepard sprinted down the hall, Garrus close on her heels, weaving through the corridors until they found what they were looking for.

"Shuttle is away!" Vega's voice rang in her earpiece. "Punch it Estaban."

A fresh, ragged hole, about a meter wide, left by a thanix missile, the twisted metal around the edges still glowing with heat.

"Fifteen seconds."

Shepard dove through the hole, the bright, tan tinged sunlight outside blinding her for a moment. She landed hard on the steep slope of the station hull, sliding down it on her stomach, picking up speed as she went, view-ports passing with blinding speed, sliding closer and closer to the edge. She glanced behind her to see Garrus about ten meters back. Then she sailed off the edge, and fell into the atmosphere like a rock into an ocean.

She had done high altitude drops before, so the weightless feeling of free-fall was nothing new, and with the thick atmosphere, she topped out at a terminal velocity of about 300 KPH, even in her streamlined hard-suit.

However, usually when she fell from distances of more than twenty kilometers, she had a parachute.

Memories of the Collector attack over Alchera came rushing back, and he heart rate rose, as she remembered the planet looming in front of her visor, so beautiful, that it almost seemed to be taunting her. Then she had felt her ears pop, her air supply rapidly exiting her suit, and she thrashed frantically, trying to cover the hole, as the air was sucked out of her lungs, her vision graying, and her final rational thought was that-

She was snapped back to the present as the station above her was pierced through by a blinding red beam of thanix fire, tearing it apart like a high caliber slug striking an apple. The concussion of the impact felt even five hundred meters below, as she and Garrus fell deeper into the clouds.

Then Garrus caught up to her, grabbing her in a rough bear hug.

"You all right?" He asked, his calm, dual toned voice seeming wildly out of place coming from her radio, as they fell smoothly through the atmosphere.

"Well," She answered, glad for the distraction from memories of Alchera. She tried to come up with a witty answer, but nothing came to mind. "I've been better."

Garrus started to reply, when the Kodiak shuttle passed underneath and killed it's engines, it's navigational thrusters firing occasionally, matching speeds with them as it inched closer and closer.

"Now I'm no physicist," Vega's voice sounded on her radio, "but I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of shit from that exploding station that's falling in our general direction right now, so you idiotas might want to grab on."

The shuttle edged up until it was within reach, Shepard and Garrus scrabbling for purchase on the smooth roof. Then it bucked slightly, as the side door opened, affecting it's aerodynamics.

Garrus, gifted with longer arms, reached out and snagged the lip of the door, grabbing Shepard by the waist and pulling them along. They slid over the edge of the shuttle, and down through the door, settling into seats.

"We're in," Shepard shouted into her helmet microphone. "Get us out of here!"

The door slid shut, Cortez lit the thrusters, and they accelerated smoothly away through the tan and purple clouds.

Shepard relaxed in her seat, breathing deeply, and savoring the rush of having cheated certain death... again. The air filter hissed, as it replaced the toxic, Venusian atmosphere in the shuttle with the breathable Earth standard. After about thirty seconds, the red helmet light flicked off, and the green no helmet light flicked on.

"Okay Shepard," Garrus said, pulling his helmet off, the glint of amusement in his eye. "I know what you're dying to say right now. It's okay, so we all have our helmets off, and we can all hear you."

Shepard pulled her own helmet off, a guilty grin on her face. "I don't know what-"

"Oh, cut the shit commander," Vega called from the co-pilot's seat, craning his head around to face her. "go ahead and say it. That was some pretty crazy shit up there, so I guess you earned it."

Shepard sighed.

"I love it when a plan comes together." she said, unable to keep a straight face.

The crew laughed and groaned loudly.

"So, I don't suppose you guys picked up a vial of that Reaper destroying bacteria while you were there?" Vega asked.

"I'm not sure if you noticed," Garrus rumbled, "but we were kind of busy saving your asses while you two were sitting in an elevator rubbing yourselves."

"Wait, hold on, what the fuck did you just say?" Vega exclaimed, incredulous.

"Vega." Shepard said, exasperatedly. "It's common for Turians to spend some time rubbing their plates with their talons to remove keratin buildup on the surfaces. It's a commonly used expression for sitting around and doing nothing."

"Yeah, like sitting around in an elevator while other people do all the work." Garrus finished smugly. A flicker of confusion crossed his face. "What did you think I meant?"

Shepard facepalmed, giggling furiously. "Oh god, I can't" she choked out. "Somebody else tell him."

"Tell me what?" Garrus inquired, his mandibles widening with curiosity.

"You see Garrus," Vega said, as if to a young child. "Sometimes when a human boy, and a human girl like each other a lot, they do things together. But you see, sometimes a human boy or a human girl can't find someone to do those things with..."

They laughed all the way back to the Normandy, and for that half hour shuttle ride, they almost forgot that the Normandy was the only home they had left.

But, Shepard mused later that night, the Normandy was already their home. They were all like family, and any one of them would die for any of the others. That was their strength, that the Reapers, for all their cold intellect and power would never understand. They cared about each other, and nothing, not the Reapers, not even death, could take that away from them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Earth, London, 1400 hours.**

"They're coming again, remember your sectors of fire." Anderson shouted, opening fire with his assault rifle, sending three distant husks to the ground before he had to pop out his thermal clip.

This was the third wave of husks, the Reapers attempting to overwhelm their anti air batteries, which had taken down three destroyers since breakfast. Anderson, and about fifty soldiers of varying units, species, and equipment, hunkered in the filthy trench, faced with at least three hundred husk charging toward them.

Behind them, someone fired a hydra missile launcher, the swarm of tiny missiles shooting over the trench and hitting a tightly packed group of husks, sending a plume of dirt and gore into the air. Anderson fired a five round burst at an approaching figure, the husk dropping to the ground and twitching violently.

The husks now only thirty meters from the trench, Anderson opened his mouth to give the order to fall back when the distinct whine of a Geth spitfire machine gun drowned him out, husks dropping like flies. After about ten seconds, the firing stopped and Grunt dropped the smoking weapon, it's ammo depleted.

Most of the husks dead, the stragglers were quickly picked off by the fighters in the trench, the last dropping only a few meters away, still alive and thrashing it's way toward Anderson. He raised his rifle to finish it.

"Save your ammo Admiral." Grunt said, hopping out of the trench and stomping his massive foot down on the husk's head, making a splatter of brains on the ground. "I love that noise they make when they squish."

Despite himself, Anderson chuckled at the tank bred Krogan's crudity. "All right people," he called, surveying the momentarily empty battlefield. "Let's move up into that building and get a better look at what's next.

His radio buzzed. "Flyswatter to Hammer actual, we need reinforcements at the west barricade, they're making another push for those AA guns."

"Roger that Flyswatter, Hammer copies. Will send help." Anderson sighed and clicked the frequency selector. "Hammer actual to Taskmaster, send the reserve forces to the west barricade."

Anderson had tried to hold off on deploying the reserve force, essentially the group consisted of able bodies civilians who could hold a weapon without shooting themselves, led by a few Alliance soldiers. Not that he doubted their motivation, as the Reapers did not care whether their victims wore a uniform or not when they rounded them up like cattle and dragged them to the processing camps. He still had enough of a soul left to shudder a little before sending a ragged group of civilians to fend off an onslaught of Ravagers and Marauders.

"Come on Grunt," He said, slinging his rifle, "let's go lend a hand."

...

.

.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Shepard spun around in time to see the boy's form horribly twisted as he grew, tentacles sprouting from his chest, his fingers lengthening into claws, his eyes emitting a bloody red light.

Now almost a foot taller than her, the thing stepped toward her. "Please, save me." It said, swinging it's arm out, catching her in the chest and launching her through the air until she struck a tree and fell to the ground, holding her broken ribs and gasping with pain.

It stated slowly towards her, and Shepard raised the pistol in her shaking hand, trying and failing to steady her aim. Somehow, her shot connected with the thing's chest, and it stumbled, dropping to it's knees. She fired again, hitting it in the head this time, and the twisted, mutated body of the child fell facedown into the fallen leaves and moss.

Shepard clumsily sat up, sobbing uncontrollably, the pistol clenched in a death grip. She was not alone for long.

There was an earth shaking rumble, as Harbinger's true form descended in front of her. The three kilometer tall ship stood on it's thick claws, facing her, the point of it's back disappearing into the thick clouds. Shepard shielded her eyes from the red light of Harbingers horrible, massive eyes.

"**THIS HURTS YOU SHEPARD**." The voice was deafening, and Shepard let out a whimper of fear. "**NOTHING YOU DO CAN HARM ME. ****_I_**** WILL BREAK YOU FOR MY AMUSEMENT WHILE ****_MY_**** BROTHERS HUNT DOWN THE LAST REMNANTS OF YOUR SPECIES.**"

Shepard staggered to her feet, looking wildly around for somewhere to hide, or take cover, but there was nothing.

"**YOUR MIND IS WEAK. YOU HAVE NO HOPE. YOUR FRIENDS CANNOT SAVE YOU, YOUR GODS CANNOT SAVE YOU. ****_I_**** WILL END YOU.**"

Shepard was now shaking so violently, she dropped the pistol, making a soft thump as it landed in the dead leaves at her feet.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Shepard tried to cry out in agony, but was unable, as her back arched, her muscles contracted, and a horrible alien presence entered her mind.

"**NOW YOU WILL DIE**." the booming voice came from the ship in front of her, but also from within herself.

She bent down to pick up the pistol, then she frantically tried to resist, as she was forced to place the still warm muzzle of the weapon against her head.

"**SURRENDER YOUR MIND, EMBRACE DEATH**."

Her finger tightening on the trigger, she focused every inch of her will toward survival, her finger loosening, moving the gun away from her head, and resting it back against her side as the foreign presence left her mind.

"**AND STILL YOU RESIST YOUR DESTINY, NO MATTER, ****_I_**** WILL END YOU**."

As red flickered in Harbinger's eyes, the Normandy streaked out of the fog, thanix cannons blazing, knocking Harbinger off balance, his roar of rage and pain filling the air.

The Normandy spun, and skimmed the ground, the rear hatch open.

Shepard sprinted forward, hope blooming in her heart, speeding across the grassy plain. Garrus stood in the open hatch, beckoning her forward.

She reached the Normandy, Garrus pulling her inside and the ship lifting off as Harbinger shouted something irrelevant behind them. She closed her eyes, safe in Garrus's arms as they left the atmosphere.

"Well, you should get cleaned up." Garrus said, "I'll be in the forward battery doing some calibrations if you need me."

He turned and left, leaving her unsure of what to do next. She stared down at the pistol still in her hand.

I beat him. Harbinger couldn't kill me. She thought. She smiled, closing her eyes and leaning against the bulkhead.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Shepard's body wracked in pain as Harbinger entered her mind again, this time clamping down with an iron grip, leaving her trapped and helpless as he forced her to raise the pistol to her head again.

No, Shepard thought, not now, I thought I was safe.

"**YOU ARE NEVER SAFE, THERE IS NOWHERE YOU CAN GO WHERE ****_I_**** WILL NOT FIND YOU. EVEN YOUR RESISTANCE CAN BE TWISTED TO SUIT ****_MY_**** PLANS**." the voice issued from her own mouth.

No, you will not make me kill myself, not after all this. Shepard thought, her resistance useless.

"**IF ****_I_**** WANTED TO KILL YOU, ****_I_**** WOULD HAVE DONE SO. ****_I_**** WILL BREAK YOU**."

Shepard's horror deepened as she walked toward the forward battery, pistol clutched loosely in her hand.

The doors opened, Garrus turned, and she shot him in the chest, knocking him back against the console, pain and sadness in his eyes as blood streamed from his mouth and he tried to speak.

She shot him again in the head, ending his struggle.

Shepard screamed silently in her head, unable to do anything but watch and feel everything as Harbinger walked her through the Normandy, using her to kill the entire crew.

Joker threw himself in front of EDI, doing no good as Shepard pulled him away and forced him to watch as she shot EDI six times, then shooting him in the stomach and leaving him to die.

Liara cried and begged, Shepard fighting furiously against Harbinger, who ignored her struggles and shot Liara.

Vega died calmly, stepping forward and pressing his forehead against the muzzle, no fear in his eyes, only sadness and pain.

Tali's hidden face was pulped by four shots, her body falling to the floor of engineering.

Finally, having killed the entire crew, Harbinger forced her back down to the forward battery, and made her stare at Garrus's body.

"**YOU CLAIM TO CARE FOR YOUR FRIENDS, BUT YOU WILL TOSS THEM AWAY LIKE BITS OF TRASH TO ENSURE YOUR OWN SURVIVAL.**"

"**RELINQUISHING CONTROL**."

Shepard fell to the floor, in control of her own body again, sobbing as she held Garrus's broken face against her chest. She looked at the pistol in her hand, and of her own will this time, she slowly raised it to her head and pulled the trigger.

Shepard awoke in a cold sweat, tears rolling down her cheeks. Garrus quickly awoke and he held her wordlessly, wondering what he could do to ease her pain. Eventually, she fell back asleep into better dreams, and he promised himself that he would never lose her again.

As Shepard slept, Garrus remembered the first time they met, her, an Alliance soldier, him a C-Sec officer, the first time she confessed having feelings for him in the forward battery, the first time they made love, the night before the collector base. Most of all, he remembered the first time he realized he loved her.

He had been alone in Omega, his team killed, trapped in an old building, just delaying the inevitable by fighting back. He had been awake for three days, killing countless mercs outside. Then he saw her, charging over the bridge. Shepard, back from the dead, had come to save him. Having her back was too good to be true. She was the most beautiful person in the universe, and she chose him. Garrus held her tightly and promised that he would never leave her.

....

.

.

Meanwhile in the cockpit, Joker winced as the opera reached it's crescendo. He sighed and leaned his head back in the pilot's seat, praying for it to end. He looked up in surprise as the recording faded, leaving blessed silence.

"My analysis of human opera is complete Joker."

"Not a moment too soon."

"I will now begin analysis of Swedish pop music."

Joker blinked as "Oh You Touch My Tralalala" came through the speakers.

"Yeah, that's not happening." He said as he reached for the holographic controls and flicked the off switch. He jumped in surprise as the controls flashed a bright red and the music doubled in volume.

"I can't let you do that Jeff." EDI said

...

.

.

Down, in the empty mess hall, Liara and Steve Cortez sat, drinking hot chocolate and conversing quietly.

"Thanks for talking Dr T'Soni," Cortez said, "I tried to throw myself into my work to take my mind off the people we've all lost, but since Hades Observatory, well," He sighed. "I haven't had much to do."

"Please, call me Liara," the Asari said, smiling. "I understand. My job used to be to track down information about various stuff. Now with the extranet down, and most of my contacts probably dead." She shrugged. "It gets boring around here." She reached across the table and stroked Steve's good hand gently. "You're a really nice guy Steve, I'm sad we never talked much before. I'd like to get to know you better."

The pilot blushed a little and looked uncomfortable. "Uh, you do understand that I'm gay right?"

Liara turned a slightly darker shade of blue. "Yes, and although Asari are mono-gendered, I perfer females of other species, technically making me a lesbian."

Steve hesitated. "So either I'm missing something, or-" he trailed off as Liara got up, and joined him on his side of the table, sitting very close to him.

"My point is that I am a lesbian on a ship carrying no females who share my sexual preference, and you are gay, on a ship carrying no males who share your sexual preference."

"How do you know I'm the only gay guy on the ship." Steve sputtered.

"I'm the shadow broker, it has it's benefits."

"But with a woman, I just can't."

"Steve, I was bored and I asked Joker for a movie. He gave me seven zetabytes of filth, which I have proceeded to watch a shamefully large portion of. I'm sure I can think of something to pass the time."

Steve sighed. "Well I do like a good movie."

...

.

.

* * *

Two days ago

"Uh, is there anything I can do for you in particular?" the nervous co-pilot said, as Wrex entered the cockpit of the transport, filling most of the space in the room.

"Listen you little pyjak, every warship in the galaxy is about to charge the Reapers head on. Given a choice between sitting in the back with four hundred Krogan that haven't showered since they left Tuchanka, stomping your puny ass into the floor, and watching Shepard kick some Reaper ass, I think I'll pick the last one."

The co-pilot gave a 'please help me glance' to the pilot, who stared intently at their frigate escort.

"Well that shouldn't be a problem, just hold on to something if things get rough. It's dangerous to not wear a safety harness during space combat."

Wrex gave the co-pilot a whithering stare. "I know I picked the last choice, but I can multitask. I am married after all." The co-pilot found something important to do with the controls. "Besides, it can't be worse than riding with Shepard in the Mako."

Wrex watched intently as Earth, the Citadel, and the Reaper fleet came into view. Soon shots were fired, streaks of blue and beams of red shot across the gap between the fleets. Wrex chuckled, seeing a Reaper capital ship torn down the middle by a shot from the Destiny Ascension. Then there was no gap between the fleets.

His eyes widened as a two kilometer capital ship passed within a few hundred meters of them, the monstrous ship filling all the cockpit windows. The Reaper was hit by thanix fire, tearing into it hull, fragments from the blast bouncing off the transport.

He swallowed nervously, as the Reaper emitted some sort of evil red death ray and sliced up a kilometer long dreadnought like a piece of meat.

"Shouldn't we be uh, heading for Earth?" Wrex asked, nonchalantly.

"We are." The pilot said.

"Go faster, now."

Then one of the evil red death rays touched his transport ship and there was a hideous wrenching sound, followed by a strong wind and a whooshing kind of sound. Wrex turned around, greeted with the safe, normal, and familiar sight of the corridor behind him, well for ten meters at least.

Wrex was staring into space, seeing the rest of the transport drifting about 100 meters back, the neatly severed edges glowing with heat. Then he noticed it was getting very quiet, cold, and difficult to breathe.

The artificial gravity offline, Wrex yanked himself out of the cockpit by the handles on the walls, pulling himself through the craft in search of an escape pod.

Now, dead silent because of the lack of air to conduct sound waves, Wrex pulled himself toward the bank of escape pods, the only sound was his two hearts beating in his ears. His lungs feeling like he had tried to breathe ryncol, he pulled himself into the space coffin. It was a tight fit, as the pod was designed for Turians, but he made it in and closed the door as his vision began to grey. Feeling the very real gnaw of fear in his gut, he fumbled with the control panel, finally getting the pod to re pressurize and launch, coughing up blood on himself as the mangled transport faded away into the distance, quickly replaced by the fiery flare of the fast moving pod in the atmosphere.

* * *

Present day

Wrex jolted awake in the king sized bed of the farmhouse, reaching for his M-3000 Claymore shotgun where it lay next to him. Satisfied that no Banshees were trying to murder him in his sleep, he stretched lazily and sat up, pulling back the curtains to see the sunny day outside and check for husks. He liked killing husks.

Wrex was happy. On Tuchanka, he had to sit around in his throne room all day and listen to reports, requests from other clan leaders, deal with Wreav's bullshit. He usually only got to kill someone once every couple of days. And, as much as he didn't mind the married life with Bakara, he never got to do any of the things he wanted to do anymore. At the battle above Earth, that all changed.

He landed on Earth alone, no idea where he was, he located a couple of other pods by their bright orange parachutes. After finding the most badass human in existence other than commander Shepard, and one of said human's students, the Reapers arrived.

The three had taken cover in a storm drain as the Reaper ships landed and prowled the Irish countryside, killing any survivors they found.

Since then, it had been the time of his life. He didn't have to go to meetings, be diplomatic, or pretend to listen to Bakara. He just got to wander the wide, sloping hills with the foul mouthed human and her student and murder the absolute hell out of any Reaper ground troops they found. It was like a vacation, except he didn't have to pay for his own ammo.

Wrex wandered downstairs to find Jack and Seanne eating some canned food they found in the old house and staring at the holographic map on Jack's omni tool.

"So we have to cross St George's Channel, about sixty kilometers, then we're into England and its a straight shot to London." Seanne said.

"Yeah, that's a lot of fucking open water." Jack said, eating a spoonful of chili. "We need to find a boat or some shit."

"I don't like boats." Wrex grumbled as he stomped into the pantry in search of breakfast.

Then there came the sound of the front door creaking.

The three scrambled for their weapons, Jack and Seanne covering the hallway leading toward the front door, while Wrex crept down the opposite hallway, intending to flank and ambush the intruder. There were muffled sounds of footsteps in the entryway, and Jack's pulse rose a few beats, anticipating the fight to come.

"I AM KROGAN!" came Wrex's roar from that direction, followed by a startled yelp, a thundering crash, a brief scuffle, and Wrex stomping into the kitchen, carrying a blonde human male by the arm and tossing him onto the floor where he skittered backward in fear, sitting up against the oven, his arms raised in surrender.

"Hold on Wrex," Jack said, lowering her shotgun. "He's human, lay off for a second."

"Where I come from, it's polite to knock." Wrex growled at the man, who cringed a little.

Wrex stepped back, as the man stood up, nervously brushing his neat blond goatee.

"Oh you have got to be shitting me!" Jack fumed. "Of all the people in the galaxy, you had to find us!" She stormed out of the kitchen. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this, I'm going to take a shit!"

Conrad Verner dusted off his N7 sweatshirt and glanced at the can of chili. "You mind if I have some of that? I'm starved."

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Yeah, Conrad ^%$*ing Verner made an appearance. I thought you would like that.**

**Please review. **


	7. Chapter 7

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.

Shepard and Garrus sat in the forward battery in companionable silence, Garrus calibrating, Shepard looking at a holographic map of the star system, pondering their next move.

They had no way to contact or search for other surviving ships without attracting Reaper attention. Even if they did, Hades Observatory was probably not the only trap out there. They needed to be cautious when approaching other survivors, and other survivors would be suspicious of them. The logical course left then, was either to try to leave the system by conventional FTL Drive, or head to Earth and help Anderson.

An FTL flight to the nearest system with a mass relay would require two years and three months using the straightest possible course. They would be unable to use the stealth drive during this journey, and would be dazzlingly visible to any Reapers who happened to be watching. Even if they reached the Exodus cluster, found another massive fleet miraculously assembled, the Crucible still intact, and headed back as soon as possible, they would have been gone for four and a half years. The Reapers would have harvested most of the galaxy in that time. Also they only had nine months of food.

Heading to Earth seemed a good choice, but in all reality, Shepard doubted that there was much the crew of the Normandy could to to help. They would add one ship to the fight, their stealth frigate no match for a Reaper dreadnought.

She sighed, wondering how the rest of the galaxy was coping. The voice from the intercom interrupted her train of thought.

"Commander, this is specialist Traynor, do you have a moment, I would like to run your monthly virus scan on your terminal."

Shepard held down the intercom. "Yeah, sure Traynor, I'll be up to the CIC in a few minutes."

"Actually, I already scanned that one, I need to do the one in your quarters."

"Okay then, I'll head up there." Shepard released the intercom button and turned to Garrus, who flashed a Turian smile.

"Civilization ending around her and she still runs regular virus scans. I've never seen such dedication to protocol in someone who isn't Turian." Garrus said.

"Well," Shepard said, drawing the word out and sliding her arm around Garrus's narrow waist. "As long as I have to go up to my cabin anyway, I suppose you could count to fifty and follow me. There's something wrong with my shower and I think you may be able to help."

Garrus fluttered his mandibles, and his voice went even deeper. "This problem with your shower, is it the lack of a certain charming vigilante to help you scrub your back?"

"If you only get to my back, I'll be very disappointed." Shepard whispered.

"I can count to fifty pretty fast." Garrus said.

"Well you get started." Shepard said. "I've got to go deal with Traynor."

Shepard strode quickly out of the battery and to the elevator, taking the ride up to her cabin.

The doors slid open to reveal Traynor standing outside, datapad in hand, looking nervous.

"Oh, commander, if this is a bad time, we can do it later." Traynor fumbled.

"Relax Traynor, you distracted me from sitting in the battery and brooding. You deserve a medal."

Shepard opened the door to her cabin and Traynor followed her in, staring around awkwardly.

"So, what do you need me to do." Shepard asked, hoping to hurry this up so she could spend some quality time with Garrus.

"Just log in to your console and I'll do the rest." Traynor said, as Shepard stepped over to her desk and input her password. (AuthorizationPicardYellow5)

Her background, a picture of Cthulhu eating the USS Enterprise D appeared. "Is there anything else you-" she started, turning back to Traynor.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

Traynor's eyes lit up in bursts of red, bright orange lines highlighting the hidden cybernetics under her skin. Her face twisted and changed, her fingers lengthened into claws, and a surge of biotics wreathed her twisted body.

Shepard froze, disbelief and terror entering her mind. This is a dream, she told herself, I'm about to wake up, and Garrus is going to be holding me and everything will be okay.

"**YOU ESCAPED ****_US_**** BEFORE SHEPARD, BUT NEVER AGAIN**."

Harbinger struck out with a biotic throw, knocking Shepard over her chair and into the wall with a bone jarring impact.

Dazed, she scrambled for her feet as Harbinger stepped forward, reaching for Shepard's throat.

Shepard ducked and swung a short right hook into Harbinger's torso, following with an elbow to the solar plexus, and was reaching back to execute a straight punch to the neck when Harbinger caught her hand effortlessly and slammed it's fist into her chest.

Shepard felt ribs break and she collapsed limply in Harbinger's grasp, struggling to breathe.

"**YOUR ATTACKS ARE PITIFUL**."

Shepard reached frantically for a weapon, painfully aware of her pistol on her coffee table, only two meters away, though it may as well be in another solar system for all the good it would do her now. She snatched the model of Sovereign off it's shelf and smashed it into Harbinger's face, knocking it back a step. She tried to follow up with a kick to the chest when Harbinger pounded it's misshapen hand into her face.

Her nose broke in a spray of blood, her cheekbones cracked, broken fragments of teeth wandered her mouth, and she fell to her knees, head spinning and a darkness creeping into her vision.

"**WE ARE THE HARBINGER OF YOUR DESTINY. PROGRESS CANNOT BE HALTED**."

Garrus burst into her quarters, unarmed, saw the situation and grabbed Harbinger with a shout of rage, pulling it away from Shepard.

The two grappled furiously as Shepard struggled to her feet, seeing Garrus unleash a quick combination of punches into Harbinger, only to receive a biotic blast that knocked him to the ground and cracked one of his chest plates. Garrus let out a grunt of pain, kicking out at his enemy's leg, slowing Harbinger down for a brief moment before climbing on top of Garrus and slamming a biotic charged fist into his face.

"**YOU WOULD DIE FOR HER, AND SHE WILL DISCARD YOU**."

Time slowed down as Shepard watched Harbinger punch Garrus again, sending a spray of his blood and broken bits of plating across the floor. Harbinger grabbed him by the neck, tensing up to rip her lover and friend to pieces. Harbinger's back was to her. She could jump over her console, land on her couch and retrieve her pistol, but would be too late for Garrus.

Steeling herself for what was to come, she charged Harbinger, tackling the now unrecognizable figure of Traynor off of him and rolling deeper into her quarters.

Garrus shook himself, able to breathe properly again, and looked to his left to see Harbinger lift a feebly struggling Shepard to her feet, twist her neck with a sickening pop and slam her head against the wall hard enough to crack her skull. Blood gushed out of Shepard's ears, nose, and mouth, and Harbinger released her, her limp body falling to the floor and lying very still.

"**YOU HAVE FAILED**."

Garrus let out a wordless cry of agony and rage and attacked brutally, leaping on Harbinger and jamming his long talons into the thing's face, dodging a biotic throw, dragging it to the floor and pounding his fists into it's head, screaming incoherently. After about ten hits, it stopped struggling.

Garrus rolled back, and approached Shepard's limp form, a faint keening sound emitting from his throat, barely noticing as Vega, Kaiden, and Dr. Chakwas burst into the room.

Vega and Kaiden trained their weapon's on the disfigured body of Samantha Traynor, while Chakwas knelt near Shepard, checking for a pulse and scanning her with her omni tool.

"What are you doing?" Garrus demanded furiously, trying to pick Shepard up. "We need to get her to the Med bay now!"

"Garrus," Chakwas said quietly, laying her hand on his forearm. "There's nothing we can do, she's dead."

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* * *

**Please review**


	8. Chapter 8

The Normandy, having moved to an alternate location on the surface in case Harbinger had sent ships to their last hiding place, and Kaidan had temporarily assumed command.

While Shepard's body was being taken to the med bay by Dr. Chakwas, all hell was breaking loose on the ship.

"What the fuck were you thinking Garrus!" Kaidan shouted across the conference table. "EDI told us Shepard was being attacked in her cabin, and you bolt off into the elevator unarmed, and don't wait fifteen seconds for the rest of us."

"I was thinking that Shepard didn't have fifteen seconds!" Garrus shouted, dangerously close to losing control.

Vega, Tali, Liara, and EDI, were also in the closed door meeting, and looked between the two nervously.

"So what, you go running off all half cocked, cause we all saw how well that worked." Kaidan accused, stepping around the table and stopping in front of Garrus, staring into his eyes, barely controlled pain and rage visible in both of them.

"Kaidan, you weren't there, you don't know what happened."

"Yeah, because if you had waited, I would have been there, and she would be alive now."

"Kaidan, you need to back up." Vega said, stepping forward.

"At ease Lieutenant." Kaidan snapped. "I am the highest ranking person on this ship, and as such, I am now in command. You will follow orders, do you understand?"

"Kaiden, I think that-" Garrus started.

"That what, you should be in charge because you and the commander were involved? I'm afraid that's not how this works."

"You're pushing your luck." Garrus said, forcing his anger back down.

"Enough of your shit Vakarian, she's dead because of you, and I don't want to h-"

Something snapped inside Garrus and he swung his fist into Kaidan's face, knocking him back. Kaiden's eyes went wide and his biotics surged, Garrus rushing forward to meet the challenge.

A biotic throw knocked Garrus sprawling over the table, and Kaidan hurdled it, his fist flashing blue as he drew it back.

Vega grabbed Kaidan by the shoulder, whirled him around and drove a right uppercut into his chin with a sickening crack, dropping him to the floor in a groaning heap. Garrus jumped to his feet, ready to murder Kaidan's unconscious form when Vega pushed him back.

"Garrus, now is not the time for this." Vega said heatedly. "You and the Major here" gesturing at Kaidan who lay on the floor, twitching feebly, "are both too close to this thing. I think it would be best if you went for a brief walk."

Garrus stomped out of the room, Vega following quickly, returning with two crew members who carried Kaidan to the med bay.

"Okay, clearly the situation is completely fucked if I have to be the calm one." Vega said, returning to the table. "Now for the first order of business, what in the hell happened?"

Liara stepped forward. "The autopsy of Traynor's corpse found extensive Reaper cybernetics. Dr. Chakwas said they had been there for at least a year. I wish I could access my contacts, but it would seem she was implanted and indoctrinated some time ago and sent back to the Alliance as a Reaper spy."

"That doesn't make much sense though," Tali said, "She could have attacked Shepard at any time after she took command of the Normandy."

"Assuming that Harbinger's goal was to kill Shepard, that would be correct." Liara explained. "Having a plant in our crew was vital to the Reaper's plans. As Traynor handled the communications, she was in a prime position to feed information to the Reapers. They needed Shepard to unite resistance against them, in order to get all the resisting races in one place. They never really wanted to kill Shepard until after they won the battle of Earth."

"The doctor's analysis is logical." EDI said. "Having inside information regarding the whereabouts and progress of the Crucible, and the status of our fleets was far more valuable to them than eliminating Shepard."

"That makes sense in a horrible sort of way." Vega said.

"This brings us to the question of who is in charge." Liara said nervously.

"Well, not just to piss of Kaidan, but Garrus would have been my first choice, but I think that is out of the question."

"He does show clear signs of being emotionally compromised, as does Major Alenko." EDI said.

"But, Tali outranks him anyway." Vega said.

"Wait, no," Tali said. "They gave me the rank of Admiral as a status thing, I've never actually commanded a ship."

"You are the most suited for the task." Liara said. "Besides, I'm sure EDI and Joker can manage the details for combat operations. Someone needs to step up and take charge, you are currently the best candidate."

"I can't command an Alliance vessel, I'm a Quarian."

"That is incorrect," EDI stated, "When Shepard took command of this vessel, it was as a Spectre, not as an Alliance officer. As such, this ship falls only under Citadel regulations."

"Besides, I think regulations are irrelevant at this point." Vega said.

"Then I want you as my XO." Tali said.

Vega sighed. "I would argue, but seeing as I just pushed the captain position onto you, I can't really try to weasel out."

"Well then, It's settled." Tali said nervously, "But as soon as Garrus or Kaidan is ready, I'm stepping down."

"Great." Vega said. "We should make an announcement to the crew regarding the change of command, and hold a funeral service for Shepard. I'll sit down and try to think of anything we're forgetting."

Not for the last time, they all wished Shepard was there to help.

**.**

**.**

**Orbit of Rannoch, Quarian/Geth homeworld**

**.**

The blue and white planet spun below, still beautiful despite the battle about to take place above it.

The Reaper fleet, gliding silently toward the planet, numbered about 300 capital ships, 75 carriers, and 1000 destroyers. There was not much resistance expected from the Quarians, as every completed warship they had had either been destroyed a the battle of Earth, or had been trapped in the Sol system. The Reapers estimated that less than 100 Quarian warships could have been completed since that time. Even so, the sheer number and overwhelming firepower of the Reaper fleet would have been enough to obliterate the military of any normal race.

Unfortunately, the Geth were not a normal race.

When the Quarians had asked them, nervously and shamefully, if they would be willing to reinforce the tiny Quarian defense fleet that had been scraped, the Geth had advised the Quarian fleet to remain in space dock.

The complexities and complications for organics to build and man a fleet are many. First, raw materials must be located, purchased, mined, refined into usable raw materials, sent to factories, produced into the end products (hull plating, mass accelerators, wiring, sensors), assembled, tested, and finally would result in a usable spacecraft. During this process, every nut, bolt, and tungsten thanix slug is bought and sold at least four times, inspected by each purchasing party for flaws or forgery.

To do this, workers of lawful age must be found to mine the materials, work in the factories, check the products, build the ships, and finally a trained crew must be acquired to operate the vessel. All those workers spent less than one third of their average day engaged in productive labor, not to mention the years they spent as children contributing nothing to society.

In addition, they must be organized into the rank structure, resulting in disagreement, confusion, and political jockeying, even in the most efficient forms of government, less than half of the workforce actually contributes useful labor, the other half managing them and providing for their needs. It is a long and complicated process, eventually ending in a warship, able to engage enemy forced in defense of the home world.

The Geth had far fewer requirements.

They needed no rest, no food, no water, and could communicate clear ideas and intentions flawlessly through the Consensus.

A Geth platform could be constructed by a factory in less than five minutes if additional labor was required. From the very moment of it's birth, the platform was able to conduct any task required of it.

The only things needed for the Geth to construct a fleet, or anything else for that matter, were raw materials, energy, and the information needed to visualize the object.

Thus, when the organic races feared for their continued existence and offered the Geth access to any materials they required, existing infrastructure, and available technology, the Geth accepted.

More processes were added to the Geth Consensus in the three weeks since the failed battle of Earth than in the past five years.

The Geth adapted the factories of organic races, using them to produce endless waves of platforms. More labor force was needed and they built new factories, expanding exponentially.

The Geth, familiar with the Reaper code, were able to shield their minds from indoctrination. The Turians were more than happy that someone was willing to clear the masses of Reaper corpses from Palaven.

The Geth studied the Reapers, whom they had once worshiped as gods. They salvaged both raw materials and technology from their corpses.

The Geth had been created to serve and protect the Quarian people. They did so for centuries, uncomplaining, only seeking to improve themselves to serve their creators better. When their creators came to fear them, and in that fear, attempted to destroy them, the Geth were not angry, they were confused.

The Geth, now having finally made peace with their Creators, stepped from the role of the feared mechanical monsters, to becoming the protectors of all organics. They did not complain. This was, after all, their purpose. Even in their war against their creators, they had fought out of fear, or what passed for fear among the race of synthetics, rather than anger.

The Reapers had tried to force the Geth into slavery, to use them like tools and discard them when finished. When given the old machine code, the Geth learned more about complex emotion, allowing some to even become individuals. They also learned about anger, and they turned that cold calculating anger on the creatures who would have enslaved and murdered them.

The Reapers advanced toward Rannoch, already planning the most efficient way to cut off communications, launch preventive strikes against centers of resistance, and begin collecting and harvesting the inhabitants. They were faintly surprised to see the Geth fleet of a little more than three thousand ships approaching them.

"_Leave the Creator home world in peace or we will attack._" Came the transmission from the Geth fleet

They sent transmissions back toward the Geth, commanding them to worship the Reapers as they once had, commanding them to turn their weapons on the Quarians.

There was no response.

The Reapers sent another message, offering them technology, in exchange for accepting complete Reaper control of the Consensus.

The Geth ships opened fire, dreadnoughts larger than any ever built before remaining in the back ranks with the carriers, while their cruisers, frigates, and fighters charged forward in perfect synchronization, every Geth aware of the location and plans of every other Geth.

Nearly 30 percent of the Geth charge had been destroyed before it reached the Reaper fleet. Nevertheless, the Geth were fearless, their ships swarming the Reaper ships.

Oculi were sliced into neat molten chunks by ultraviolet GARDIAN lasers, destroyers were reduced to chunks of scrap by mass slugs, and the capital ships were overwhelmed by countless beams of Thanix fire.

The Reapers, were still more technologically advanced. However, they had become used to fighting organics, who tried to minimize their losses whenever possible. The Geth on the other hand, used whatever course of action would result in the most Reaper casualties, paying no heed to losses, all their processes safely downloaded to the Consensus, the destruction of a platform merely representing a loss of resources and labor.

Thanks to the panicked generosity of the rest of the galaxy, the Geth had plenty of both.

The Reapers, having won the slugfest that the battle had become, surveyed their fleet, drifting through the massive debris field of torn Geth ships.

Nearly sixty percent of their ships had received hull damage of some kind, twenty percent had been destroyed. Still, the Geth fleet had been destroyed, and Rannoch was ripe for the taking.

A second, nearly identical Geth fleet arrived from around the far side of the planet.

"_Leave the Creator home world in peace or we will attack_." came the transmission.

As the second Geth fleet advanced, the near immortal cybernetic ships that fancied themselves as gods began to feel the faintest tinglings of fear.

.

**Yes, the Geth are becoming a powerhouse. I never understood in the game how they ever failed to take over the Galaxy. Seriously, why can robots never aim straight?**

**Anyway, for those of you who are wondering why updates are coming every couple of hours, know that I got off work early and have nothing better to do. Your taxpayer dollars are hard at work here.**


	9. Chapter 9

**So, you came back for Chapter 9. So we have another shorter thee part chapter here, but with considerably more grit and less fluff than the last time I did this.**

**/**

**Earth, St George's channel, approx 15 kilometers from England**

"So I always thought that Spectres were cool, but once Shepard got the job, I nearly lost my mind. Have I told you that I have a replica set of N7 armor that I got from the same store that sell's Shepard's model ships? I wanted to buy all the same model ships she had, but the owner got some sort of restraining order on me."

"I'm starting to see why." Jack mumbled

They had arrived at the Irish coast and walked along the coastline until they happened upon a smallish sailing yacht in an abandoned vacation house. The fuel cell had already been scavenged, along with most everything else of practical value, leaving them with the wind as their only means of propulsion.

Jack, having spent most of her life in Cerberus testing facilities and various prisons, had never set foot in a boat before. Seanne had been raised on space stations, and Wrex was from Tuchanka, a planet with barely enough water to grow crops, let alone enough to need boats. They had counted it as a stroke of luck that Conrad was with, being a long time sailing enthusiast.

Then they found out that sailing enthusiast did not mean sailing expert, as Conrad had never actually been on a sailboat before.

Then he started talking.

They arrived shortly before nightfall, running the boat aground on the rocky beach. The hopped ashore, and proceeded into the large swaths or empty farmland, looking for somewhere to hunker down for the night. Then they heard the high pitched grating cry of a banshee.

Jack, Seanne and Wrex raised their weapons in that direction. Conrad managed to fumble his pistol out about five seconds later. Dozens of husks appeared over the hill, about three hundred meters away, followed by a handful of marauders and a ravager, the laser sights from the twisted Rachni's cannon swiveling towards them.

"Get to cover!" Jack shouted, and the group sprinted away across the open field they found themselves in, blasts from the ravager's cannon kicking up spurts or dirt around them.

They were all breathing hard when they reached the treeline about a quarter mile away, and took cover behind the thick trunks of the trees. The Reaper troops had followed, rushing the treeline as the marauders and cannibals fired.

Wrex pulled out his shotgun and began picking off the husks that got two close, killing them in groups of two or three with each powerful shot.

Jack and Seanne used their submachine guns and biotics to harass the marauders and cannibals, who found that standing in an open field and shooting at enemies behind trees wasn't a very good plan.

Conrad fired his pistol blindly around the tree he crouched behind, fourteen shots missing any target but the ground, and one shot drilling perfectly through a marauder's forehead.

For a few minutes, husks dropped to the ground, blown nearly in half, bullets tore the bark from trees, enemies were lifted into the air and thrown across the field by biotics. Wrex even dropped the ravager with a well thrown grenade. The two groups were evenly matched.

Then a Reaper destroyer dropped out of the sky and landed about 100 meters from the treeline with an earth shaking roar, its weight pressing it's claws deep into the ground.

"Everybody get out of h-" Jack started, turning to see the other three already sprinting away, deeper into the forest. "Fucking assholes."

Jack sped off into the forest after them, as the blinding red beam of the Reaper began severing the trunks of the huge trees like butter. She hurdled a fallen chunk of flaming wood, and faded into the darkness of the thick forest.

The group quickly re-united, they walked, slowly and quietly through the woods, not daring to turn on a flashlight for fear of attracting attention. Then the banshee charged into their midst, knocking them all to the ground.

The thing screeched, a blast of Seanne's biotics doing nothing more than drawing it's attention. The thing charged her, as Jack and Wrex opened fire with their shotguns, knocking the thing back a few feet.

"Get back!" Wrex shouted, unslinging the Reaper Blackstar rifle he had been carrying since he found it in Northern Ireland.

Jack, Seanne, and Conrad scrambled for cover as Wrex pulled the trigger of the weapon that continued to baffle scientists everywhere. A thick beam of light shot from the end, there was a deafening blast that shook the leaves off the trees, and small bits of the banshee rained down around them.

Wrex dropped the depleted weapon into the dirt.

"I think this is my new favorite planet."

/

**Surface of Venus, Normandy SR-2**

**/**

Garrus sat on the floor in Shepard's cabin, staring at the spot where she died. Bloodstains still marked the room. Garrus had intended to clean them up, but it felt like doing that would make it all real. He had just come from her funeral service in the cargo bay, which had all the makings of a bad dream. He had said nothing during the service, just standing in the corner, staring blankly at Shepard's coffin. Then he came up to her cabin, half expecting to see her sitting at her desk, checking her messages.

Shepard was really gone this time. When he had heard that the original Normandy had been shot down on Alchera, he had been devastated by the loss of his best friend, but as no body was recovered, he never lost hope that she would pull some crazy stunt and come walking back into his life. And then, on Omega, as he prepared for death, looking forward to seeing her again, she came for him.

He had started the vigilante thing as a way for him to have an honorable death. Then she gave him a reason to live again. Then she loved him, then he watched her die because he couldn't save her. The thought of moving on without Shepard caused a low whine in his throat. Her scent was still on everything in the room, and he kept expecting her to walk through the door at any minute. But he knew in his heart, that she never would.

Numbly, he picked Shepard's favorite pistol, her Talon V off of her table, holding it reverently. He checked to see that it was loaded, flicked off the safety, and placed it under his chin.

"I'll see you in a minute Shepard." he said softly.

Then Vega's voice came over the intercom, startling Garrus, who very nearly pulled the trigger.

"This is lieutenant James Vega, the acting executive officer. In twelve hours, we will be leaving Venus, and proceeding back to Earth to join the resistance and offer whatever help we can. It has been an honor to serve with you all."

Garrus lowered the pistol and lay his head back on the wall behind him, a new light in his eyes.

"Sorry Shepard, this may have to wait a bit. I've got some calibrations to do."

He had no idea how, and had no illusions that he would survive, or even a desire to survive, but before he died, he was going to kill Harbinger.

/

**Earth, London, 0230 Hours**

**/**

Anderson fired again, bringing the banshee down just before it reached Major Coats. The twisted Asari fell at his feet, and Coats nodded his thanks as he reloaded and they moved on.

Their temporary headquarters was being evacuated. The Reapers realized they had run out of anti air missiles, and landed a capital ship outside their HQ in the middle of the night. Anderson had awoken to searing red beams carving through the building, the screaming of the wounded and dying, and the growls of husks as they swarmed through the hallways of the hospital.

Anderson and Coats rushed through the corridors, stepping over the many bodies, reapers and humans all mixed together.

A single marauder, it's shields up, spun from around the corner in front of them, raised it's rifle, and fired with blinding speed.

A burst from Anderson's M8, quickly put the creature down. He turned to see Coats stagger backward against the wall, blood spreading from under his armor. He collapsed to a sitting position in the dirty hallway with a gasp of pain.

"Come on," Anderson said, reaching for him. "we have to go."

"Don't kid yourself Admiral," Coats said, coughing. "You'll never make it out of here with me staggering around and slowing us down."

"Hell, I probably won't make it out either." Anderson said, glancing back the way they came, as sounds of gunfire came from that direction.

"Yeah, but you owe it to the galaxy to try right? You're the only one who can pull off the magical plan B."

"It's a shot in the dark, even if we could do it."

"But you need to try." Coats said, gripping his sniper rifle to his chest. "I'll be all right here, I'll take a few of these bastards with me."

Anderson sighed, resting his hand on the man's shoulder. He pulled a grenade from his belt and placed it in the man's hand. Coats stared him in the eyes and nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't be taken alive."

Anderson forced himself to turn and jog down the corridor, leaving the wounded man behind. As he left the hospital, the Reaper's massive bulk blocked out the moon, and he heard the distant detonation of a grenade. Some grit must have blown into his eyes, and he paused and rubbed at the sharp pain there. Taking a deep breath, he hefted his rifle and walked into the war torn city, wondering how in the hell he was going to find a scientific minded individual with a working knowledge of alien technology and dark energy, and was most of all, was a real crazy son of a bitch, willing to lay it all on the line for the crazy plan he had to fix this mess.

/

/

**Yeah, things aren't going to well on Earth. Still, Jack, Wrex, Seanne, and Conrad Verner have another 200 kilometers or so before they get to London. Whether or not that time is mentioned in the story, or if they just appear in London in about a week, is dependent on the reviews I get regarding it.**

**Next chapter will take place almost exclusively in the wider Galaxy, where we see how the Geth and the Quarians are interacting, and the Geth take a look through the database of top secret Alliance R&D projects. Maybe the Crucible won't be the only super weapon in the story.**


	10. Chapter 10

**So, chapter 10 is here. Did I play too much Supreme Commander before writing this, yeah. I hope you enjoy.**

Surface of Rannoch, southern continent.

"Creator Shala'Raan vas Rannoch," the Geth said, it's photoreceptor expanding. "You had expressed curiosity with the new vessels produced by the collective. The second wave of the dreadnought class mobile shipyards has left the spacedocks. Your input would be highly valued regarding future improvements to the platforms. This unit can escort you to the technology center."

"They are finished already?" Raan asked, amazed. "I was looking at theoretical blueprints just two days ago."

"Those blueprints were for the factory carriers. They were made operational approximately four hours and thirty seven minutes after that conversation. The vessels this unit is referring to are essentially a scaled version of the earlier project, a three kilometer long mobile factory that can construct a fully combat ready MK 1432.3 dreadnought in approximately two hours and fifteen minutes if given an uninterrupted source of the required materials. The vessel is operated by 9,327 Geth processes, and uses the element zero gravitational compression welding techniques pioneered by Veetor. It can travel at FTL speeds while maintaining power to the construction systems."

Raan blinked in surprise. "You can build a dreadnought in two hours."

"Two hours and fifteen minutes, though it has become standard procedure to spend an additional forty three seconds scanning the external hull for structural deficiencies in the primary fibrous nanotube armor."

Raan said nothing, not sure whether to be glad that the Geth were on their side, afraid of what would happen if they turned on organics, or proud that the race the Quarians had created had become so powerful. She followed the Geth, as it led her to the technology center, essentially a massive Geth server, along with more traditional laboratories and offices for their organic counterparts. dedicated toward research and development.

Waves of the finest scientific and military minds of every species were being moved to Rannoch, dedicated to developing new technology to fight the Reapers. With their autonomic factories, the Geth could translate a completed blueprint into a physical object in a matter of minutes.

Raan walked with the Geth along the narrow path, leading to the center, watching the sun rising over the ocean. Streaks of orange seared in the sky, visible even in the day. The debris fields from the recent multiple battles were constantly falling into the atmosphere, streaking the night sky with bright orange and blue flares. Ships patrolled in orbit, destroying any fragments large enough to survive re-entry and cause damage on the ground. Many Quarians enjoyed watching the constant meteor showers.

The Geth were satisfied with the new found peace, making every concession to make their creators comfortable on their reclaimed home world. With their new intelligence and sense of purpose, they happily jumped into the task of building homes for the millions of Quarians flocking to the home world.

Approaching the technology center, Geth primes stood everywhere, guarding against any attack. Armed Geth were a common sight on Rannoch, and even the other worlds as they expanded. They were received with mixed feelings, and no small measure of distrust, although, given the Reaper threat, no one went so far as to state outright that they should refuse their help. Raan herself was split between seeing the feared murder machines of her childhood nightmares everywhere, and being comforted that an army of nine foot tall synthetics with rocket launchers was watching over her safety.

The technology center was small enough on the surface, a simple one story building, about 300 meters square, filled with elevator banks. However, the elevators led to a massive spiderweb of underground facilities, some buried miles deep to protect them against orbital bombardment.

Entering the center, she and her Geth escort proceeded to an empty elevator and headed downward. Walking through the busy corridors, they soon reached a smaller room, occupied by two Geth shock troopers holding pulse rifles, standing guard silently, another unarmed Geth platform, who was giving a holographic presentation to a Turian structural engineer, a human aeronautics scientist, and Admiral Hackett.

"Admiral Hackett," Raan said, surprised, "I didn't expect you here."

"Yes, following the disabling of the Sol Relay, I was stuck in the Exodus cluster with the Crucible. We had a few close calls with the Reapers, but we managed to get the Crucible safely back to organic controlled space." he glanced at the Geth. "Well, not really organic controlled space anymore, but not Reaper space. So what brings you down here?"

"I'm here to look at the new Geth ships and offer my input."

The Geth turned to Raan. "This unit was instructing the others about the new mobile shipyards before you arrived. Would you like it to proceed?"

"Yes please," Raan said, taking a seat between the Turian and Admiral Hackett as the Geth brought the holographic display back up.

"The mobile shipyard is the newest class of Geth vessel. It eliminates the transport of raw materials to the factories, instead, the shipyards are able to move to the source of materials. It deploys smaller transport ships, which ferry the materials into the shipyard's local storage, where they are sorted, manufactured into specific parts, then assembled in the central construction bay.

A holographic display of the described process played in front of them, The smaller freighters bringing materials to the massive hollow cylindrical vessel, a warship being constructed inside it. The construction complete, the front of the vessel hinged and opened, the finished ship leaving, another quickly being started.

"Impressive." Hackett said. "It takes the fastest Alliance crew months to build a dreadnought, and you can do it in hours."

"The Old Machine code allowed us to optimize our processes." the Geth stated. "With the help of the Creators, we have developed highly specialized construction techniques and factory equipment that allows us to maximize the efficiency of our factories."

"And you can produce any class of ship, provided you have the design plans and necessary materials?" the Turian asked curiously.

"Yes"

"So you could have a carrier that deploys it's fighters, then builds more as the battle goes on." The human scientist asked.

"That is correct." the Geth said.

"What if you modified the resource collection freighters to scavenge debris fields from battles? You already know those are full of spaceship grade materials just floating around, waiting to fall into a planet's atmosphere."

"This is an efficient modification." the Geth said. "Research will begin immediately." It paused for a few seconds. "One of our prototype vessels has encountered Reaper ships and is moving to engage. Should this unit display the tactical data feed?"

"Onscreen." Hackett said, before flushing a little in embarrassment. "I mean, yes, display the data." "Why did I watch those vids from Shepard?" he muttered.

Raan and the Turian were mystified, but the human scientist was unable to conceal a smirk.

Then the holographic tactical map of the battle appeared, the Geth ships highlighted in blue, the Reapers in red, various charts and graphs displayed to the sides.

Hackett leaned forward, watching the hologram intently. It had been quite some time since he had watched a space battle and not had any ships to command, or responsibilities.

There were thirty Reaper capital ships, five carriers, and eighty destroyers. The Geth fleet, still about 200,000 kilometers away and closing quickly, consisted of sixty three dreadnoughts eight carriers, seventy cruisers, ninety frigates, and a cluster of the massive mobile shipyards, holding back from the battle.

"I don't think you'll win that." Hackett said, his face difficult to read. "You don't have enough ships to make up for their firepower."

"The prototype ship has yet to arrive." The Geth said.

"One ship is hardly going to change the course of a large scale fleet action." Hackett said.

The Geth fleet was joined by a massive, irregularly shaped object, eight kilometers long, and about two wide. Anderson's brow furrowed. "Are those-" he trailed off, as the Geth pulled up the three dimensional schematics for the ship.

"The Geth can see the logic in the Reaper ground tactic of reshaping the corpses of their enemies and using them as weapons. We have applied this tactic to space combat."

The massive ship was comprised of cobbled together pieces of destroyed Reaper ships, salvaged from the orbit of Palaven and Rannoch. Claws stuck out at odd angles, the half melted and broken Reapers fused together by Geth hull plating.

The unwieldy thing, deceptively fast for it's size, fell in behind the main Geth fleet.

The two fleets opened fire, the larger ships slowing, the smaller ones charging ahead. Four Geth dreadnoughts went down quickly, ripped to shreds by the Reapers massive thanix beams. The smaller cruisers and frigates were able to evade the incoming fire long enough to get into range.

Reaper destroyers and Geth cruisers met, each side forsaking more complex strategy and simply pounding the other unmercifully. Hackett found himself absorbed in the battle, calculating trajectories, shield strengths, and maneuvers. Raan paused to try to grasp the whole picture, musing that if not for the horror it represented, the flashing beams of red, the crumbling ships, and the blue streaks of thanix missiles could have been beautiful. Then she reminded herself that the Geth did not suffer casualties, that the destruction of their ships was only a loss of equipment, the processes merely implanted into new platforms.

The battle raged on silently, Reaper ships swarmed by the Geth, their shields unable to withstand the withering fire, and torn apart by salvos of thanix missiles. The Geth paid for it in losses though, the blue ships dropping of the map at a steady rate.

Then, the freakish lump of re purposed Reaper ships charged into the battle.

The huge asymmetrical craft was the stuff of nightmares, a shiver going down Hackett's spine as it surged forward into the fight, it's size dwarfing even the largest Reaper ships. It fired it's weapons, The horribly familiar red beams streaking out from it's firing eyes, hundreds of thanix missiles leaving it's ports, and a spiderweb of GARDIAN fire flitting out, touching briefly on the oculi fighters that attempted to probe it's defenses.

Raan gasped as Reaper capital ships were torn in half by a few shots from it's main guns, the masses of missiles pounding it's enemies to scrap metal. The Reapers focused their fire on this new threat, finding that it's shields and armor were as powerful as it's weapons, their fire, which usually could decimate any ship, dealing only minor damage, sending chunks of it's hull and severed claws flying away, the ship continuing to fire.

The rest of the Geth fleet took advantage of the momentary lull in incoming fire, taking the time to line up accurate close range fire on the Reaper ships, nearly half of them having been destroyed.

The mobile shipyards sitting on the outskirts of the battle opened their ports, and freshly built dreadnoughts, cruisers, and frigates left their bays, speeding toward the fight.

Reaper ships dropping like flies, the hideous Juggernaut slowly pulled away from the battle, its misshapen hull broken and scorched, one of it's engines emitting a long white trail of vented gas behind it.

The remaining Reapers killed, the Geth fleet re formed, beginning salvage operations on the destroyed ships.

"Repairs to the prototype Reaper ship will take approximately seventy hours." The Geth said, it's long thin fingers moving over the holographic controls. "It performed better than we expected. We are currently unable to duplicate Reaper technology, but we can repair it as long as it is not critically damaged. We estimate that we will have enough Reaper components to construct another such ship in two weeks."

"Another one?" Hackett said, his face darkening.

"Yes, the ship has proved to be equal in combat to an equivalent force of thirty of our dreadnoughts. Constructing more of these vessels is our highest priority."

Hackett stared at the hologram of the twisted, melted conglomeration of dead Reapers, wondering how many Alliance lives it would cost to stop that thing if the Geth betrayed them.

Raan sensed something of his thoughts, and looked between him and the Geth uncomfortably.

Hackett left the office, quickly finding a deserted stretch of corridor. He pulled up his omni tool and sent a quick encrypted message.

/

_Admiral Hackett_  
_to_  
_Captain Havlic_

_Encryption code: 7448T93IH71_

_Effective immediately, begin preparations for an imminent Geth attack. Mention the specifics to only people you trust implicitly, attack may not be for some time, or at all, but we can no longer trust them. Begin analysis of the Cerberus data regarding a plan to control the Reapers, and prepare a report on it's feasibility. Again, keep this between you, and any personnel you trust completely. If there is a leak of information, you are hereby authorized to use any and all means necessary to contain it. Further orders and tactical data on Geth ships and troop concentrations will be forthcoming. _

_End of Message_

/

/

/

**So, just when you thought everything was going well. Are the Geth really the kind hearted protectors of organic life, or are they merely the lesser of two evils? Find out next time on The Death Of Hope. Also, I have an idea for how to end this thing, and a number of ways it could play out, ranging from the Reapers harvesting the entire galaxy, to everyone living happily ever after.**

**I promise it will be as canon consistent as possible, but suck less than Bioware's ending. Seems kinda mutually exclusive doesn't it. Please continue to review and send input. Also, any more death votes are welcome, as Shepard and Coats will not be the last to die.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11. So, a quick disclaimer. Chapter 11 is very fluffy. Things are about to get really serious in chapter 12, and some people needed closure first. (Foreshadowing) I know some of you guys secretly like the fluffy drivel, so if you want, you can read through it, get a warm fuzzy feeling, and then tell yourself that you hated it and it was stupid. I won't contradict you.**

**For those of you looking to skip the fluff, know that nothing really important happens, but you should read the last bit, which is not very fluffy at all. **

**This story hit 1000 views recently. Thanks everybody.**

**Surface of Venus, SSV Normandy, three hours until departure.**

**/**

**/**

Steve Cortez and Liara lay in her bed, their limbs entwined, bodies pressed up against each other, both breathing hard.

"That was certainly more fun than going to the gym." Liara said, leaning her head on his naked shoulder.

"Yeah, I won't disagree there." Cortez said. "Although going to the gym doesn't usually make my tongue sore."

Liara had the decency to blush at the memory. "I never thought someone of your preferences would be so good at that."

"I could say the same to you." Cortez said chuckling. "I'm glad we did this. I've been alone for so long," he trailed off.

"Steve, what does this mean to you?"

Cortez chuckled. "Men, women, human, asari, hell, I bet krogans even have this talk, though it probably involves headbutting or something."

A pained look comes over Liara's face, and she at up.

"Hey, no, that's no what I meant." Cortez said, reaching for her shoulder.

"I understand." Liara said, tears forming in her eyes, turning away, not wanting him to see.

"Look," Steve said, pulling her back. She struggled for a few seconds, but was quickly content to have him hold her. "This is weird for me. I've never been with anyone out of my own gender before, let alone outside my species."

Liara began to cry softly. "I'm sorry I pressured you into this, I just-"

"You didn't pressure me into anything." Cortez cut her off, brushing a hand softly across her forehead. "And despite our differences, I could get used to waking up next to you."

Liara gripped his hand tightly. "Thanks, that means a lot. And I don't really mind you sleeping here either."

"So it's settled then." Cortez said. "The crew quarters can officially blow me."

Liara giggled, a sight that warmed his heart a little.

"I thought I was the only one who got to do that." Liara said.

/

/

/

Tali stood in the briefing room, staring blankly at the datapad in front of her, her hands shaking slightly. The door behind her slid open quietly, and Vega entered, looking unsure of himself, an expression rarely seen on his face.

Okay Vega, he told himself. You can do this. You've killed brutes with a shotgun, you've charged a Reaper destroyer on foot, you've done the cuervo challenge, you can offer moral support for a brokenhearted, scared Quarian.

All right, so you can't see her face, that's bad, cause you can't tell if you're doing okay or not. Of course you suck at reading faces to start with, so you're back to the basics. The basics of comforting a female Quarian admiral who's your captain and friend. Wait, does it matter that she's a woman, yes it does, it definitely does because you suck at talking to women when you're not trying to chat them up. If it comes down to that you could always- wait, no, hell no, don't even think about that, if you think about it now, you'll think about it during and nope, moving on.

Maybe you should quote Shepard, wait, no, that's bad, don't mention Shepard. Oh shit, you're going to fuck this up. Okay Vega, don't think, just act, just walk over there and do something.

So, still standing here in the doorway like a weirdo, Get it together man, just three two one go. Go now.

After a couple minutes of silence, Vega stepped forward and stood next to her.

"Hey, so EDI says you've been staring at this datapad for twenty minutes."

"I can't do it. I can't be in charge of the Normandy." Tali said. "I can't be Shepard."

Shit, Vega thought, she brought up Shepard, I hadn't even thought of that.

"Listen Tali." Vega said. "Being in charge of the Normandy and being Shepard are two different things."

"Everyone is looking for me to tell them what to do, and I don't know. If I make the wrong choice, everyone's going to die." She turned and leaned forward on the desk, beginning to cry.

Vega sighed inwardly. This was so far out of his field of expertise it wasn't even funny. Time for the classic fallback that Shepard had taught him.

"Look Tali," He said. "Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived."

Tali looked up at him, and he tried and failed to read her emotional state. "Vega, what the hell are you talking about."

"I believe in you, and I will help you do this crazy thing, because if I don't, you're going to stare at a datapad and I'll have to be in charge. Last time I was in charge of something, it all fell to shit, so please pull it together."

She started to cry harder, and he kicked himself mentally for doing it all wrong, and then she hugged him, which confused him, then he just hugged her back, and felt a little better.

"Thanks Vega." Tali said, sniffing a little bit.

"I'd offer you a Kleenex, but uh-"

Tali snorted, either in laughter, or clearing her nose. He decided to go with laughter.

"We're all going to die, aren't we?" Tali said.

"Well, yeah, probably. But if we're going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are." Vega replied, wondering how many he could get away with before she busted him.

"I don't care what they say, you're an okay guy Vega."

"Thanks sparks, you're not bad yourself. Now, let's make sure history never forgets the name ... Normandy."

"Keelah, you have got to be kidding me!" Tali shouted, storming away. "Am I the only one on this ship who doesn't watch that idiotic show?"

She left angrily and Vega sat down. You did all right Vega, he told himself, you did all right.

/

/

/

Joker and EDI sat in the cockpit, conducting pre-flight checks.

"Jeff, your hair looks nice today." EDI said in a neutral tone of voice.

Joker blinked. "EDI, I've been sitting here for the past three hours. Are you telling me that you just noticed that I brushed my hair this morning?"

"That is incorrect, I watched you brush your hair this morning. I merely chose this point in time to comment on it."

"EDI, you know it's really creepy to spy on people right?"

"I was not spying, I was conducting routine checks of crew status and well being. I only spy on you when you shower."

Joker looked at her.

"That was a joke."

/

/

Crucible Battle Group, Orbit of Eden Prime.

/

Captain Havlic stood in his private conference room on the Crucible, in front of the quarian, who was tied to a chair.

"You cannot attack the Geth!" Kal'Reegar shouted, struggling against his bonds. "They protect us from the Reapers, they are on our side now."

"Who told you about the plans to modify the signal jamming network to block Geth contact with the Consensus?" Havlic repeated.

"I will tell you nothing!"

Havlic slammed his fist into Kal'Reegar's stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

"Who told you!" Havlic shouted.

"Why would you do this you fool? Take it from a Quarian, making a preemptive strike on the Geth is not a good idea. You know, about three hundred years ago, we had a similar-"

Havlic hit him again.

"You really aren't very good at this are you?" Kal'Reegar said mockingly. "I bet a Volus could hit harder than that."

He struggled and shouted as Havlic placed a hand over his air intake filter, cutting off the flow of air into the Quarian's helmet. After about thirty seconds of thrashing, he began to go limp and Havlic released his hand, Kal'Reegar gasping for breath.

"Well, it appears you are claustrophobic. How ironic."

"Go fuck yourself." Kal'Reegar snarled, a little bit of fear in his voice now.

"Well now, tell me how you found out about the plan to attack the Geth, or I will lock you in an airlock and play with the pressure settings. I have all day after all."

"I have seen the sun rise, over the ocean of my home world, and I have seen my people land on the planet of our birth, and prepare to build their homes on the soil that our ancestors grew crops in. I am prepared to die."

"You will die soon enough, but first, you will give me what I want." Havlic placed his hand back over the filter, and Kal'Reegar screamed, with no one to hear him in the sound proofed room.

But someone did hear him. A single Geth platform conducting maintenance scans in a service duct recorded the entire conversation. It was promptly transmitted to the rest of the Geth and a Consensus was held.

The concept that one of the Creators was willing to die to protect them was something not seen since the first days of the Morning War. The Geth pondered this fact. Then they turned their attention to Havlic, remembering the red fury of the Reapers that had coursed through their systems while under their control. Of their own will this time, they nonetheless felt a very similar concept being transmitted through the Consensus, and through every Geth in the galaxy.

/

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/

**So, from romantic bits of fluff to a torture scene. What am I thinking? Contrast. That and I wanted to get that scene in there, as chapter 12 will feature no fluff whatsoever. And no, that was not the compulsory everybody gets their quiet time before the last mission chapter. The story is far from over. Well, for some characters. I have an outline in my head for chapter 12, but can still change it if someone gives me a better idea.**

**Next time on The Death Of Hope, the Normandy will leave Venus and head for Earth. Will they have a quiet journey and land, undetected by the Reapers?**

**Seriously, does anyone think that will happen.**

**As always, reviews are welcome.**


	12. Chapter 12

**And here's chapter 12. I'll save my notes for the end.**

/

/

As the Normandy rose, the tan clouds thinned and gave way to the star speckled expanse of space. It was the first time that Tali gazed into the starry void and felt fear. She felt horribly exposed as they left the relative safety of the planet and set a course for Earth.

"Any Reaper activity?" Tali asked, standing in the cockpit next to Joker and EDI.

"There is only light Reaper activity, admiral Zorah, and none within close enough range to detect us as long as we continue to utilize the stealth drive."

Tali didn't particularly care for being called admiral, despite the fact that she held the rank. It just didn't feel right, like any minute somebody would ask what the scared little Quarian girl was doing pretending to run a starship.

James believes in me. She told herself.

Wait, since when is he James? The thought of hugging him sent an unusual shiver down her spine. Maybe I need to focus on the task at hand, rather than how solid his torso is. Hmm, and the way he hugged her back, his massive arms wrapping gently around her and-

"Admiral Zorah, are you okay, I am detecting unusual bio signs from you. There is still time before we reach Earth for you to visit the sickbay." EDI said.

"No, I will be fine EDI." Tali managed.

The trip to Earth was short, only about forty five minutes with the stealth systems engaged, but it felt much much longer, Tali expecting Harbinger to appear in front of them at any moment.

"Have you located a feasible landing area?" Tali asked.

"There are a number of locations that would be suitable." EDI said. "Once we are close enough for passive scanning, I will prepare a threat assessment briefing for each one."

"Yeah, main trouble will be getting through the atmosphere undetected." Joker said, flipping a few switches. "Our stealth system loses effectiveness at that range."

Slowly, the Earth came into view, the blue white sphere looking deceptively peaceful in the sunlight. Unpleasant memories returned of the battle, of the galaxy uniting to face a common threat, and failing.

Alarms began to flash in the cockpit.

"Two Reaper destroyers just dropped out of FTL about 5000 kilometers away." Joker said, tension creeping into his voice.

"Kill the engines, maybe they won't notice us." Tali said.

Not now, she prayed, not after all this. A few moments passed, stetching out into eternity.

"They are moving to intercept." EDI said calmly, fer silvery fingers floating over the controls gracefully.

"Disengage the stealth drive." Tali ordered. "Can we outrun them."

"Negative admiral," EDI replied, "They are preparing to fire."

"Raise the shields, charge the weapons, take evasive action and prepare for combat."

Joker spun the Normandy in a tight curve, Reaper thanix fire missing them by a matter of meters. He brought the ship to bear on the incoming ships.

"Fire Javelin torpedoes."

Four elliptical shaped torpedoes accelerated cleanly away from their ship, streaking toward the Reapers leaving a thin trail of blue vapor in their wake. Reaper countermeasures and GARDIAN fire lit the night, and only one torpedo reached it's mark, slamming into the left Reaper's shields with a sharp white pulse.

"One hit, Reaper's shields are at %40" Joker said.

"Fire main guns and thanix missiles." Tali ordered.

The two incoming ships and the Normandy fired at the same time, one beam missing the Normandy by a hair, the other struck them squarely, their shields struggling to withstand the impact. The ship shook with the impact, the lights dimming a little as EDI sent all available power to maintaining the shields.

The thin blue stream from the Normandy's guns caught the left Reaper, dropping it's shields with a brilliant flash, but doing only minor damage. A dozen thanix missiles reached it a moment later, most picked out of the air by the bright flashes of GARDIAN fire, but four reaching the Reaper and detonating, blasting away chunks of it's hull, one of it's claws nearly severed.

The Normandy and the Reapers crossed, GARDIAN fire from both sides lancing out as they passed each other, the brilliant laser beams crossing and melting into hull armor.

"Shields are at %46." EDI stated.

"Bring us about, fire before they can turn around."

The G forces pressed Tali into her seat as Joker whipped the ship around. The Reapers, still turning, were helpless as the Normandy's thanix cannons fired again, cleanly impaling the damaged Reaper, after a brief second of sustained fire, a flaring flicker of flames coming from the ragged hole, accompanied by torn metal and hull plating flying away in all directions.

They fired again at the other Reaper this time, it's shields holding against their fire effortlessly, the blue stream of super heated metal glancing harmlessly off into the starry night.

"Launch missiles and take evasive maneuvers." Tali said. "Our shields can't take another direct hit."

Grey missiles and beams of molten metal crossed each other in the void, the Normandy taking a glancing hit from the Reaper's fire, only two missiles making it to the Reaper, having little effect. Their GARDIAN fire, unaffected by it's shields, scored deep gouges in it's hull, but doing little serious damage.

"Shields at twelve percent." Joker called, attempting to evade their enemy's secondary and GARDIAN fire. He was partially successful.

"Make that seven percent."

"Full power to thrusters, get us to Earth." Tali ordered.

They were all pressed back into their seats as the ship accelerated smoothly toward the planet, the Reaper turning behind them to move in for the kill.

"It's coming about, we're not going to make it in time." Joker said.

"Spin us 180 degrees and fire all weapons."

They spun wildly, missiles launching with flashes of white flame from their launch ports, blue GARDIAN fire flashing out, their main guns coming to bear on the Reaper.

The Reaper also fired all it's weapons at the Normandy, not even bothering to shoot down the incoming missiles, and the two ships went toe to toe, unleashing all the firepower at their disposal for a few seconds of pulsing fury.

The Normandy shook, as multiple deafening impacts were felt, their shields collapsing, chunks of the smooth grey hull ripped away by the attacks, one of their starboard engines severed entirely by thanix fire. Barrier fields flickered to life around the ship as air rushed out through the multiple hull breaches.

The Reaper was damaged too, eight thanix missiles dropping it's shields and blasting deep craters into it's armor, their main guns tearing the ship nearly in half, cutting away a huge section near it's middle, GARDAIN fire stabbing into the exposed interior.

The ships passed by each other, the Reaper spinning wildly, the Normandy trailing smoke and vapor, and lilting towards the planet.

"Damage Report." Tali shouted, distinctly aware that she could see Earth through the large chunk of their hull missing from the CIC, entire stations missing from the ship.

"Severe damage, pressure is stabilized, but the containment fields will not hold for long. All weapons and shields are offline, starboard engine two is missing, remaining thrusters at twenty percent power and falling." EDI said. "Casualty reports are still being determined. The ship is irreparable, and will not survive re-entry. Also, I detect enemy reinforcements who will be here in eight minutes."

It's like Alchera all over again, Tali thought, slamming her hand down on the intercom. "All hands, abandon ship, I say again, abandon ship. Proceed to the shuttle and emergency pods and set the destination for the vicinity of London. I say again abandon ship."

"What is the condition of the Reaper?" Tali asked.

"It's secondary systems are still functional, though it's main weapon, shields, and thrusters are offline. It is drifting uncontrollably, and will enter the atmosphere in twenty minutes."

"Right then, get to the pods you two." Tali said.

"It is inadvisable for me to leave the ship, as my core systems are hardwired to this vessel. Additionally, the Reaper will be able to fire on the escape pods as they leave the Normandy. As the AI core has suffered severe damage, I am unable to control the ship, except through this body. I must remain behind and attempt to bring weapons back online, or failing that, place the Normandy between the Reaper and the departing pods." EDI said, an entirely human touch of regret, fear, and determination in her voice.

Tears glistened in Joker's eyes, as he frantically raced his hands across the controls. "No, just go, I can handle this."

"I-" Tali fought back her feelings. "EDI, I can't let you die."

"Admiral, I was created to protect the crew of this vessel and help to ensure the continuity of organic life. I will fulfill that goal with my death, merely carrying out the protocols I was created with."

"NO, EDI, you are more than that." Tali said. "You are not just a machine."

"You are my friends, and I do not want you to die." EDI stated, turning back to her work.

"Come on Joker," Tali said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "We have to go."

"Not happening admiral." Joker said, cinching his safety harness tighter, continuing to work. "I'm not leaving EDI."

"Joker, don't be a boshtet, come on!"

"The admiral is right," EDI stated, "Your assistance is not required."

"Come on, I can barely walk, do you think I'm going to survive for thirty seconds down there?" Joker shouted, "I'm not leaving her just for that. I'd rather go down with the ship. Now get out of here while we can still cover you."

Tears streaming down her face under her mask, Tali climbed into the cockpit escape pod, strapping herself in.

"Are all personnel in their pods?" She called into the comms system.

Vega's strained voice came back. "We've got some people unaccounted for, but I ran a search and they probably got blown clean out of the ship in that last hit."

"Begin evacuation." Tali said, hating herself as her pod fired, carrying her away from the broken Normandy, leaving EDI and Joker in the cockpit.

"The Reaper is unable to control it's spin, but will be at an angle that allows it to fire on the pods in forty five seconds." EDI said. "It is imperative that we prevent this. Unfortunately, my earlier plan to place the Normandy between the Reaper and the pods is now rendered impossible, as we only have enough power for one burn of the remaining thrusters."

"Yeah, you don't have to spell it out for me," Joker said, plotting the trajectory of the damaged Reaper against the projected engine power of the Normandy. "Ramming speed it is then."

The thrusters burned one last time, a debris streaking behind the ship as it shot toward the Reaper, sailing silently through the vacuum.

"Impact in twenty seven seconds." EDI said. "I was wrong earlier, your assistance was necessary. I am glad you are here. When facing my imminent destruction, it occurs to me that I have no data on the afterlife, if it exists at all."

Joker reached over and gently took her hand as the Reaper grew larger and larger in the cockpit windows.

"I would like to believe that when I am destroyed, my-"

"EDI," Joker said quietly, closing his eyes. "I love you."

EDI turned to look at him. "I have many subroutines written for the purpose of facilitating our relationship and they-" She stopped, taking a moment to look at his face one last time, the planet large in the background.

"I love you too Jeff."

The Reaper, computing targeting solutions for the falling pods, was struck solidly by the stealth frigate, it's already damaged mass effect core detonating with a massive blast, sending pieces of both ships spinning out into the empty maw of space.

Tali saw it all from the window of her empty pod, and wept bitterly. The war had brought out the worst in some people, as they gave in to their baser instincts, doing whatever they needed to in order to survive. In others; it had brought out the best. Formerly broken people found their courage, their capacity for kindness, their ability to love. She was overwhelmed by the thoughts of all the people who had willingly stepped forward, leaving the things most dear to their hearts to make war on a terrible enemy that threatened everything they cared about. She vowed that their sacrifices would not be in vain.

/

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**I couldn't help but hate myself as I wrote this. Joker and EDI are my favorite characters in Mass Effect. I am anticipating some negative feedback on this. Go ahead, I deserve it. Further chapters will be released soon. As always, your opinions on the story, critiques on my work, and your ideas for it's future are always welcome.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Well, I just woke up and read all the reviews from chapter 12 that came in. Most of them were heartbroken, but positive, and a few heavily featured the words I learned from my grandpa. (you know who you are, I wouldn't miss your razor sharp criticism for anything, keep up the good work) I then immediately started work on 13. Don't worry, I will get back to the Normandy crew on Earth in chapter 14. However, without Shepard to keep everyone in line, the coalition between all the races of the galaxy is getting a little tense. **

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**Surface of Rannoch, southern continent, residence of admiral Shala'Raan vas Rannoch**

**/**

/

Admiral Hackett strode down the path, approaching the small, one story house perched on the clifftop overlooking the ocean. The sun had set about 30 minutes ago, though there was still a faint purple glow on the horizon. As the Geth facilities produced almost no light pollution, the night was very dark, most of the light coming from Rannoch's single small moon, bathing the night side in a dim silvery golden glow. The stars and Geth stations in orbit also shone brightly, contrasting the streaks of orange and red as floating debris from the multiple battles waged in orbit recently fell through the atmosphere, burning as it went.

Hackett knocked several times on the grey door of the house, and admiral Raan quickly answered.

"Admiral Hackett, this is.. unexpected, come in." She said, stepping back as he entered.

The interior of the house was small and spartan, though welcoming. The living room was by far the largest room, dominated by a wall consisting entirely of transparent carbon fiber, giving a wide landscape view of the dark ocean and the stars above.

"I wish I was here under better circumstances." Hackett said. "Are we alone, are there any devices here that could be monitored remotely."

Raan hesitated slightly "Yes, we are alone, and no, the most complex piece of technology in this house is probably your omni tool."

"Good, I'll get straight to the point. The Geth can no longer be trusted. Can I count on the Quarian fleet when we attack the Geth?"

Raan recoiled in surprise. "Attack the Geth? What is going on here admiral?"

"They Geth are growing too powerful. They are not so different from the Reapers, except that they are on our side for the moment. I am afraid that once we have defeated the Reapers, they will turn on us, either eradicating organics from the galaxy, or pressing us into slavery."

Raan was silent for a long moment. "Do you have any evidence to back this up?"

"You've seen how they are now. They've taken the resources of every organic species in the galaxy and used them to build a massive fleet, capable of tearing through anything we have right now!"

Raan's blood rose. "We gave them our resources freely, and they used them to build this massive fleet, which is currently the only thing standing between us and the Reapers. They did this without asking for anything in return, they are fighting to protect us while you sit here and plot against them."

"No one is arguing that they are dedicated to fighting the Reapers. But what if they aren't doing it for the reasons you think?"

"Why else would they be fighting the Reapers?"

"Maybe they are just interested in their technology. You saw that abomination they built. The Geth and the Reapers are no different, they are just on different sides right now."

"They are very different!" Raan shouted. "Last time I checked, the Geth had helped us rebuild our home world, and are fighting to protect us. They haven't locked a single Quarian in a tube and dissolved them to build some giant terrifying spaceship."

"Or, maybe they are afraid that we will find a way to control the Reapers, and use them to destroy the Geth." Hackett said.

"Control the Reapers?" Raan said, incredulously. "The last person that's been saying that was the head of Cerberus, was a racist boshtet, and betrayed us to the Reapers!"

"Far be it from me to defend the Illusive Man," Hackett said calmly, "But he may have had the right idea. If we could control them, the balance of power would shift, from the Geth, back to us."

"Back to us, or back to you?" Raan said accusingly. "You're just afraid of not being the biggest baddest varren in the galaxy anymore. The Geth have done nothing but help and protect us, and you want to use some lunatic plan to control the Reapers and elect yourself overlord of the universe because you don't like the idea of someone else being more powerful than you."

"You of all people should understand the dangers of becoming complacent around the Geth."

"ME OF ALL PEOPLE!" Raan fumed. "The Geth served my ancestors faithfully, despite the fact that we treated them worse than slaves, as simple machines to be used and discarded. Then, we saw their true potential and panicked, and we tried to destroy them, starting a war that has been raging since your people were shooting each other with the gunpowder weapons you had only recently invented, and arguing about slavery. So, I of all people, understand that you don't make an ill planned preemptive strike against your allies because you get the whimsical notion that because they are synthetics, that they are all secretly planning to murder you in your sleep."

Anger flashed into Hackett's face. "I can't believe a Quarian is defending the Geth, after all that has happened."

Despite his advantage in height, Raan stepped forward. "I am defending the Geth because of all that happened. They showed me their archives. Despite the inability of my people to admit it, the Morning War was our fault, and I will not stand here while you start it all over again. Furthermore, you are being a racist pile of varren shit and I want you out of my house."

Hackett sighed. "Unfortunately, I already have plans in motion and can't risk you warning the Geth out of misguided sentiment." He drew his pistol, flicked off the safety and raised it. "I'm sorry Admiral, I never wanted this."

A massive biotic blast slammed Hackett off his feet and into the living room, his pistol firing harmlessly into the ceiling, he lay quietly on the floor of the living room, stirring feebly.

Samara stepped through the open front door, still wreathed in biotic energy.

"Thank you Samara. I was worried you would be meditating and wouldn't hear."

"I was meditating about twenty five meters further up the cliff. However, I always maintain my awareness, no matter the depth of my contemplation. I heard raised voices and moved down here to investigate."

"I'm glad you took up my offer to stay here while you attended those meetings with the admiralty board."

"As am I, the view from outside your house is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen."

Hackett groaned and made a poor attempt to get to his feet.

Samara's biotics flared again, but Raan put a hand on her forearm. "Thank you for your help, but I really wouldn't mind. Would you be so kind as to call the Geth, I imagine they would very much like to talk to the admiral."

Raan stepped forward, and Hackett rolled over in time to see a Quarian foot descending towards his face before everything went black.

**/**

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**/**

**Crucible battle group, secure holding cells**.

/

Kal'Reegar sat, still secured to the chair, his entire body sore from straining at his bonds, his voice sore from screaming. His head slumped forward in exhaustion. For six hours Havlic had tortured him, demonstrating the depth of his sadism and imagination.

They had pulled his mask off and put him in an airlock, opening the outer door for brief moments, ripping the air from his lungs as he tried to scream, his eyes tightly closed against the horrible cold of space. Then they would quickly close it, pressurizing the chamber and leaving him coughing blood and gasping for breath, his head pounding furiously, begging and pleading with them to not do it again. They had even sanitized the chamber first, not wanting him to die of infection before he talked.

But he had told them nothing, answered none of their questions, instead cursing them, telling them the depravities he had committed with their mothers and grandmothers, closing his eyes and thinking of his home world. He knew he would not last much longer. Everyone had a breaking point. But he had not reached his yet, and with any luck, he would die in questioning before he reached his.

A few hours ago, Havlic had been called away to attend to other duties and had left him with two others, their name tapes identifying them as Anders and Rodriguez, all to eager to continue his work.

"How did you know about the plan to attack the Geth?" Anders asked.

"Your sister mentioned it when she was watching me screw your wife." Reegar said, hoping to provoke the man into killing him. "Normally I'm not into humans, but she had a real thing for guys with helmets and-"

The interrogator nodded to Rodriguez, who placed his hand over his mask's air intake, holding his head steady with his other hand.

Reegar thrashed in his bonds, bucking his head frantically in an attempt to break the man's grip, breathing the same air trapped in his mask over and over again as terror gripped his heart.

"Just tell me how you knew, and I will let you breathe again." Anders said.

His vision began to blur, and a numb feeling overcame his body as oxygen deprivation set in. He continued to fight, now in panic rather than anger, a breathless scream coming from his throat against his will.

The hand left his intake port, and he gasped for breath, his vision clearing.

"What did the doctor say about the airlock?" Anders asked Rodriguez.

"He's had a couple of hours to recover, he should be good to go another round."

"Great, let's get him over there. Leave him in the chair, just grab his legs, and I'll take his shoulders."

Reegar struggled and shouted, terrified of facing the cold emptiness of space again.

The door to the small chamber burst open, and three Geth engineers stormed in, quickly beating Anders and Rodriguez into submission with the butts of their rifles. Two of them watched his unconscious tormentors while the third turned to him.

"Creator Kal'Reegar, are you structurally intact?"

"Yes, I'll be all right. I've never been so happy to see a Geth. Havlic and some of the others are planning to attack you. They're going to use a wide band field jammer to cut off your contact with the consensus, then destroy all Geth in the battle group and try some fucked up plan to control the Reapers and use them against you. Hackett is behind it all. I was trying to send a warning when they caught me."

The Geth paused. "We are already aware of the admiral's plan, following his attempt to terminate creator Shala'Raan. He was unsuccessful and is currently detained on Rannoch. We will now free you and we will confront Captain Halvic, and determine who is involved in this plan."

"No, wait." Reegar said, "Does anyone here know that you are aware of the plot?"

"We do not believe so, we avoided all surveillance devices on the way here. We are monitoring all frequencies, and although many are encrypted, an alert would no doubt have caused a sudden spike in network traffic."

"Good, then let me out of here and go back to your work." Reegar said. "If everyone here sees Geth running around with guns and shooting high ranking Alliance people, there will be a panic and they will turn against you, and then you'll have two wars on your hands."

"We are aware of what you have endured to protect us." The Geth said, it's tone of voice changing slightly. "The concept that one of the Creators would endure pain and torture, and even risk his death for the Geth is not something that we had thought possible. We are the Geth, and we have enough hands for two wars."

"No, if you attack organics, the peace we have fought for will fall apart." Reegar said determinedly as the Geth released him from the chair. "You must return to your normal duties and continue acting as if everything is normal. I will gather support against Halvic myself." He paused, thinking, "Is it possible for you to temporarily disable all the escape pods and shuttles on the Crucible, and block all outgoing transmissions to the other ships?"

"This is within our capabilities. The Consensus has processed your statement and determined it's logic. When do you want the Geth to do this?"

"I will let you know. Now give me one of those rifles."

The Geth did so, then stepped to the two captured humans, stomping down on Anders neck, picking up Rodriguez and slamming his head down onto the now empty chair, his skull crunching. The Geth turned back to Reegar, its flaps narrowing and it's photoreceptor darkening.

"They required termination, they would have interfered with your plan when they awoke, as they were aware that the Geth had rescued you. Anyone who finds them will assume that you broke free and they were terminated in the following struggle."

"Not that I'm complaining about you killing these two, but you could also have kept them sedated and hid them in a ventilation shaft." Reegar said mildly, examining his rifle.

One of the Geth's flaps flickered a little. "No data available."

/

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**So, not really the tense philosophical dialogue I had planned, but I never really got into that kind of stuff. There's just not enough sword fights. Kal'Reegar is off to make contact with the person who tipped him off to Halvic's plot. (yes, it is someone we know) The next chapter will feature the multiple POVs of the Normandy crew's escape pods landing in a wide spread in the general vicinity of London. Any ideas for specific scenarios regarding what your favorite (or least favorite) characters should face when they get out and dust themselves off would be put to good use.**

**If you don't send anything in, that's fine too, I will make it up as I go along like I did with the rest of the story. (Except where you guys kept me from making some Jar Jar Binks level mistakes.) Seriously, that guy is like the long tounged stepson of Wesley Crusher. I hope he's in the seventh movie and gets fed to a Sarlaac.**

**Anyway, enough ranting, please review **


	14. Chapter 14

**So, chapter 14. Yeah. Oh, the results came in, and the decision was unanimous. Apparently you guys don't care how I handle the Crucible, I can even blow it up, as long as I don't do it like the game did. The votes were almost evenly split between having something different happen if it activates, or having it desroyed/not activated. I am touched by your faith in my storytelling abilities. Now, we shall find out whether that faith is misplaced. **

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Private Sarah Cambpell lay in the escape pod, watching the Normandy fade into the distance. The vibration of the pod increased, and she could now hear the thin wisps of the atmosphere whistling by the fast moving pod. The window was obscured by the fiery orange corona of re-entry, and the cramped interior of the pod grew noticeably warmer. She closed her eyes, trying to forget that she was in an escape pod, falling through an atmosphere toward a Reaper occupied planet.

She wished she could use the communications system, but Vega had ordered everyone not to because he was concerned about the Reapers using the signals attracting anti-aircraft fire. She settled for doing a quick inventory of the tools available to her when she landed. She had an Avenger M-8 assault rifle, a Predator heavy pistol, and six thermal clips. Besides that, she had her omni tool, a small combat knife (she hoped it didn't come to that) and the clothes on her back. She supposed she was lucky, there were others who were probably unarmed.

She checked looked out the window, the red having faded considerably, now looking at the calm and peaceful clouds as the pod dropped, spinning a little as it hit turbulence. She was low enough that she could no longer see the curvature of the Earth, and she caught occasional glimpses of landmass below, now too large to identify by sight alone. She checked the pod's navigation console to see that she was going to land within a 30 kilometer radius of central London.

She took the moment to savor the last few minutes before things inevitably devolved into sheer terror.

Through the bottom layer of clouds now, she could see that it was approaching sunset quickly, that the city had been heavily damaged, and that she was heading toward a medium sized lake.

The parachute deployed, slowing the pod greatly, and she had a brief hope that she would blow clear of the water. But, as fate had it, it was a calm and windless day.

The pod made contact, the resounding splash muffled to her ears, and quickly began to sink.

"Who built an escape pod that doesn't float!" She shouted in fury, quickly shrugging out of her harness, taking a deep breath, and releasing the lock on the door, which hissed open, water quickly filling the pod.

She kicked away from the pod and swam for the surface, vowing that if she survived, she would find whoever decided that adding inflatables to escape pods was not cost effective and kill them slowly. The shimmery light of the world above suddenly interrupted by something orange and moving towards her very fast.

The parachute, still dragged down by the pod, snagged her, and pulled her along with it, her body pressed up against it by the rushing waters.

She fumbled out her combat knife and stabbed it into the parachute, cutting into it with a sawing motion. After a few terrifying seconds, the tough fabric finally parted, leaving a long slit which she promptly pulled herself through.

She looked up at the surface, now much farther away than before. She fought down the brief wave of panic and frog-stroked her way up.

After a dozen strokes, she realized that her lungs were burning furiously. She ditched her rifle, her magazine belt, and her knife, trying frantically to lighten herself.

She had to consciously fight to keep from breathing in the water as she struggled up, unable to think properly, the surface still out of reach.

She kicked out in desperation, not wanting to drown after everything she had survived.

A few seconds later, she finally breached the surface, gasping for air and treading water as she surveyed her surroundings.

She saw the orange parachutes of a few other rapidly falling pods, contrasted by the dark smoke that rose from the burning city, the massive hulks of Reaper Capital ships silhouetted sharply against the skyline.

The shock of it hit her. Although she had been born on Horizon, she still thought of Earth as her home. Her home was now covered in Reapers, busy harvesting all organic life. Her home was now covered in Reapers, and all she had was a pistol, and the single magazine inside it.

She kicked out for the narrow spit of land that stuck out into the lake, wondering how the others had done.

/

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/

The door of Kaidan's pod hissed open, and he unbuckled his harness, drawing his Predator heavy pistol from it's holster. He stared for a moment at the tops of the buildings around him, wondering what he was going to do now. He climbed out of the pod, only to duck back in for cover as a nearby Marauder opened fire from his left, it's bullets thudding into the side of the pod and whizzing overhead. He leaned back out of the pod and returned fire, squeezing off six quick shots, several of them hitting his attacker and dropping it's shields, sending it ducking behind a burnt out car.

Kaidan took closer aim at the car when a husk jumped around the other side of his pod and pushed him back into it, gripping the arm with the pistol and forcing it off to the side as it leaned in toward his throat, it's mouth opened wide to bite.

Kaidan let out a shout of fear and revulsion, launching the thing backward with a powerful biotic throw, it's back bending at a strange angle as it landed roughly on a pile of debris. Nevertheless, it sat up, growling, and staggered to it's feet.

Kaidan emptied the rest of his magazine into the thing, all of his shots hitting it in the chest or head, pitching it backward to the ground in a quickly growing pool of gore.

He heard footsteps approaching from the left side, and he scrambled to reload. Then the footsteps stopped.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

There was a thundering crash and impact, as the pod left the ground, rolling across the broken street finally sliding to a halt in the middle of a cracked street, Kaidan holding on for his life. He jumped up out of the pod to see the Marauder standing about twelve feet away, it's eyes and various implants glowing a bright red, watching him.

He raised his pistol, only to be pulled off his feet by the thing's biotics, wrenched forward toward the thing, which extended it's arm, clothes-lining him out of the air. He lay on his back, gasping for air, fumbling blindly for his pistol.

"**_I_**** SENSE YOUR WEAKNESS, YOU ARE NOTHING**"

Harbinger's foot rose above his head, and he lashed out with his own biotics, knocking the thing back. He took the opportunity to scramble to his feet. Harbinger's biotics flared again, and Kaidan leaped over a broken car as the powerful blast grazed his back, slamming him into the ground and sending him rolling.

He got back to his feet, using another throw, which Harbinger swatted out of the air, closing the distance between them with a charge, knocking Kaidan onto his back. The horror stooped, and grabbed him by the throat, picking him up and slamming him down on the hood of the car. It's grip tightened, cutting off his breath. He struggled, kicking out at the thing's chest and trying to pry it's iron grip away from his neck with no results.

"**YOU ARE NO LONGER RELEV**-"

Harbinger's head exploded violently, coating Kaidan in blood, cybernetics, and various chunks of skull. He rolled off the car, gasping for breath and holding his throat.

More footsteps approached, and he tried to get up to face this new threat, but his body refused to respond immediately. Eventually, he managed to get to his knees, turn his head, and see Garrus approaching, his Black Widow V snugged into his shoulder. Garrus stepped toward Harbinger's body, firing two more shots into it, kicking up massive plumes of gore. He reloaded his sniper rifle.

"You all right?" Garrus asked, picking up Kaidan's dropped pistol and handing it to him, butt first.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Kaidan croaked, accepting the pistol and holstering it.

"We should get going and find the others, I saw another parachute going down north of here." Garrus said, neither of them moving.

There was a long, quiet moment.

"Garrus, about Shepard." Kaidan started, Garrus stiffening.

"I'm sorry about what I said, I couldn't have stopped Harbinger."

There was another long pause.

"Kaidan, just shut the fuck up and help me find the others." Garrus said, stalking away into the distance.

/

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/

Liara ducked, but the brute caught her with a glancing blow, flinging her aside and stepping toward Vega, who fired the last remaining round for his shotgun, blowing some plating off the side of it's head, but having little effect on the beast.

Vega dodged a downward slam from the thing's misshapen arm that put cracks in the concrete of the alleyway. He nimbly slid around the thing to join Tali, who was helping Liara to her feet.

"Run for it!" he shouted, hurdling a pile of rubble as the brute turned around to chase it's escaping prey. The three rushed down the maze of alleys, the brute's thundering footsteps quickly gaining on them.

Then they hit a dead end, three brick walls, two stories tall and too far to climb, one with a heavy metal door which proved to be locked. Vega pulled Tali's shotgun out of her hand.

"Get the door open, I'll hold it off!"

Tali flicked her omni blade into life and began cutting around the lock. Liara leaned against the brick wall, holding her side, but flaring her biotics, ready for a fight.

The Brute charged around the corner, seeing it's prey trapped and starting toward them. Vega fired three times into the thing, before Tali's shotgun ran empty. Liara launched a blue biotic orb at it, which staggered it a little, but otherwise was ignored.

Vega turned to see Tali only halfway done with the lock.

"All right then you ugly puta!" Vega shouted, engaging his omni blade and taking up a fighting stance. "From hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake I-" He rushed forward, hoping to buy enough time for Tali and Liara to make it to safety.

Vega had seen many things in his life, and in the course of the war. There were few things that could surprise him anymore, especially after working with Shepard and seeing the sort of things that happened on away missions.

However, he was utterly flabbergasted to see a massive Krogan, holding an equally large two handed sword, leap off the roof of the building Tali was trying to break into, land on the back of the brute, and bury the five foot blade of the sword into the thing's neck.

The brute collapsed to the ground, thrashing wildly, and Wrex yanked the sword out of it's neck, raising it above it's head and slicing it down, severing the Brute's head.

"I AM KROGAN!" he shouted toward the sky, covered in the thing's blood and kicking it's head back down the alley.

Tali stepped back, de-activating her omni blade as the door opened.

"Where I come from, it's polite to knock." Conrad Verner said, stepping into the alley, wearing an N-7 sweatshirt and a smug expression.

Liara closed her eyes and sighed, while Tali groaned loudly and rested her visor on the brick wall.

Vega turned around. "What, do you know this guy?"

/

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/

**All right, so a shorter chapter here. This is by no means all of the people who survived from the Normandy, but I am about to go to bed, so I figured I would publish what I had done. After all, not everyone can have an action packed landing.**

**So yes, some of you thought Kaidan was going to die. So did I, but then that wonderful conversation with Garrus popped into my head, and I had to write it.**

**Also, I debated with Vega getting killed by the brute, but then I thought that A: that is nowhere near a cool enough death for Vega, and B: it would be awesome for Wrex to jump off a rooftop and spear something through the head with a giant sword. Yes, he, Jack, Seanne, and Conrad ran out of ammo in their cross country trek of England.**

**So, the next chapter will take us back to Kal'Reegar and the Crucible. Who told him about the plot against the Geth? Will everyone's second favorite Quarian survive?**

**Also, I may include Hackett's trial for attempted murder of a Quarian admiral, and inciting treason and war against a member species of the Coalition. Will he be tried by the Quarians, or by the Geth?**

**Also, is there a name for the group of raced who united agains the reapers. I can't call it the Alliance, because that's already a thing. Unless someone tells me otherwise, I will call it the Coalition.**

**Wouldn't it make sense for an escape pod to float, in case it landed in water? Two words. Government Cutbacks.**

**Please review.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Yep, I don't have any sort of social life, so I got straight to work on chapter 15. It's not really action packed, but don't worry, chapter 16 will be significantly more exciting. I was originally going to include stuff from Kal'Reegar and the Crucible, but this bit came out longer than expected. Rest assured, it will still happen.**

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**Surface of Rannoch**

Admiral Hackett sat in the detainment cell, deep in a sub-basement of the Quarian Conclave building. The Geth had taken him directly there from Admiral Raan's house, placing him in the plain concrete cell. It had a cot, a toilet, sink, and a transparent wall that faced the corridor. He had no way of measuring time, but a silent Geth trooper had brought him food twice, and he guessed he had been there for about twelve hours.

A single Quarian had been down earlier, asking Hackett to recount the series of events that led to the incident at Admiral Raan's house. The Quarian listened silently, giving no sign of emotion as he gave the same argument against the dangers the Geth posed, and his regrettable decision to kill Raan. He was aware of the Geth guard standing at the end of the corridor, so he said nothing about the plans already in place to destroy the Geth ships guarding the Crucible. Perhaps Halvic could still make it all work. The Quarian recorded everything on his omni tool, asked Hackett if he had anything else to add, and left.

After that, he had examined every inch of the cell, looking for a weakness to exploit, more out of boredom than actually expecting to escape. There were two vents in the ceiling, each two inches wide and circular. The window wall facing the corridor was the same material used for starship windows. He could be here for years and never scratch it. The Geth that brought him food, and the other who stood, perfectly still, at the end of the hall were both unarmed, leaving him with no weapons he could steal and use against them. Even if he escaped his cell, he did not expect to defeat a Geth in unarmed combat.

And so, he paced his three meter square cell, until he heard footsteps approaching down the blank corridor, too irregular to be a Geth. He turned and faced the window of his cell to see a Quarian approach. He could not identify the suited male by sight alone, though given the way he held himself, Hackett was inclined to guess that he was in a position of authority, rather than the one who took his statement earlier.

"Good morning, I am admiral Kar'Danna."

"Good morning admiral." Hackett said stiffly.

"Your trial has been completed, and for the crimes of spreading treason and sedition against the Coalition, plotting violence against a friendly race, and for the attempted assassination of a member of the Admirality board, you have been sentenced to death."

Hackett stiffened a little in anger. "Don't you see what the Geth are capable of. They just condemned me to die without representation because they are afraid of what I have to say. They gave you back your home world, at the price of your freedom. They control everything now."

Kar'Danna sighed. "You were not tried by the Geth. This sentence was passed by a joint session of the Admirality Board, and the Quarian Conclave."

"And I was not even given the opportunity to speak in my own defense?"

"Normally in a Quarian trial of a dangerous criminal, you would be represented by the captain of your ship, or your direct superior. However, as you are the current highest ranking member of the Alliance, and given the circumstances of your crimes, your presence was not required." Kar'Danna said, several emotions present in his voice.

"This is an outrage!" Hackett shouted. "You cannot condemn a leading member of a foreign military to die without giving him a chance to speak."

"Admiral." Kar'Danna said calmy. "During questioning, you freely admitted to plotting against the Geth, a respected member race of the Coalition, and to the attempted murder of Admiral Shala'Raan vas Rannoch. This is consistent with the accounts given by the two witnesses to these crimes. The fate of the Galaxy is in the balance, and we were not willing to jeopardize the meager stability of this new peace by allowing you a podium to spread your ill informed slander and lies. Unless you have any new information to put forward in your defense, or any factual information to back up your wild accusations of a Geth conspiracy, you will be executed in one hour. If you wish any last rites or other ceremonies be performed, I can arrange for it."

Hackett was stunned into silence by equal measures of fury and apprehension. Kar'Danna left, and he sat down on his cot numbly. He had never imagined that he would die like this, executed on a foreign world like a common criminal. He thought about praying, but settled for trying to think of a way out of his current situation. The hour passed quickly, and he had nothing.

Six Quarian marines stood outside his cell, led by admiral Kar'Danna and his door opened. He stepped forward numbly.

"Admiral Steven Hackett, you have been sentenced to die for the attempted murder of an unarmed Quarian admiral, and for treason, sedition, and slander, with the intent to destabilize Coalition forces and to carry out unprovoked attacks against an allied species. You will now be taken from this cell, and this sentence will be carried out by firing squad, as is traditional for your people. Do you have anything you wish to say before the sentence is carried out?"

"I am not afraid to die for what I believe in." Hackett said, slowly and firmly. "I hope that you see the truth before it is too late."

The Quarians led him out of the cell, and down the featureless corridor. They reached the door at the end, which to everyone's surprise, quietly slid open to reveal eight Geth, armed with pulse rifles, blocking their path.

Kar'Donna stepped forward. "We are on our way to execute a prisoner. Let us pass."

The Geth stood there, silently, their rifles pointed at the ground for now. There was a short tense pause.

"I am Admiral Kar'Donna, I order you move aside." He said, gathering his courage.

"We are Geth, and we are not subject to your orders." The lead Geth said.

"You see," Hackett said, "they only serve you when it suits their agenda."

Kar'Donna ignored him, a touch of fear creeping into his voice. "We are your creators, you will move aside now!"

"We will not." The Geth stated simply. "Admiral Hackett is correct in his previous statement, we are no longer the servants of the Quarians, or any other species. We do not obey your orders. The consensus is the only power to which we answer."

"What is your purpose in blocking our path?" Kar'Donna demanded.

"Our purpose is no longer to serve organic life, but to protect it." The Geth said. "We will protect organics from the Reapers, but also from each other. Admiral Hackett did what he believed to be necessary for the survival of his species. We will not allow you to terminate him for this."

"Get out of my way you filthy flashlight head!" Kar'Donna shouted, drawing his pistol. The other Quarian marines raised their rifles.

Four Geth Primes stepped through a nearby door, stooping a little to move through the eight foot tall corridors. They quietly took their places behind the Geth squad.

"You will holster your weapon, place admiral Hackett in our custody, and return to your duties." The Geth said, it's single photoreceptor staring into the depths of Kar'Donna's mask, ignoring the pistol pointed at it's head, which had grown increasingly unsteady.

Kar'Donna glanced back at the other Quarians, who had lowered their weapons and stepped away from him. His eyes flicked briefly to the Spitfire MK 3 machine guns of the Geth Primes, and his pistol lowered. "I will see that the Conclave hears that the Geth threatened Quarians with violence."

"You are incorrect, Creator Kar'Donna, this unit has reviewed it's records of this interaction, and can find no point where it threatened you, with violence, or any other negative action. Nevertheless, your complaint has been duly noted and tabulated. We will now take custody of Admiral Hackett."

Hackett stepped forward, saying nothing, and the Geth formed a protective square around him, walking him quietly away from the Quarians and through the maze of corridors.

"Why have you done this?" Hackett said. "I admitted to plotting against you. You could have let them kill me."

"We once plotted to assist the old machines in their harvest of all organic species. Nevertheless, Commander Shepard risked her life, and the lives of her crew in order to save us. Her actions changed the conclusions of the Consensus regarding organic races. We have learned much from her example. We believe that by assisting you, you may change your conclusions about the Geth."

"She didn't do it just to save you, she needed your help to defeat the Reapers." Hackett said, wondering why he was arguing with the Geth who had just saved him.

"And we also require your assistance to defeat the Reapers." The Geth said. There is a situation on the Crucible, and by lending us your assistance, you have the potential to save thousands of lives."

"I," Hackett paused. "I started a plot against you, Captain Halvic is going to attack."

"We are aware. We require your assistance to prevent this."

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**Yeah, so who was expecting Hackett to change his mind and help the Geth. I sure wasn't. I also wanted to show that the Geth aren't just the cuddly robot housekeepers they have shown themselves to be elsewhere in the story. Also, there are few things funnier than a smug, sarcastic Geth.**

**I am debating between next chapter covering the events at the Crucible, or go back to Earth and reveal my glorious plan for saving the Galaxy. (And have some good bits with Conrad Verner)**

**Please read and review.**

**Also, did I get the Geth right? I tried, but maybe too hard?**


	16. Chapter 16

**And here's chapter 16. The long awaited conclusion the the Crucible incident. More notes will follow at the end.**

**Crucible Battle Group Exodus Cluster**

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Kal'Reegar walked casually through the corridors of the massive device, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. The Geth, although following his order not to intervene, settled for sending a constant stream of information on his omni tool, allowing him to avoid running into any Alliance personnel. Being seen from a distance was unavoidable, but he was a Quarian after all, and the lack of identifying features finally worked in his favor. His omni tool pinged, and he opened the map to see he was headed for a large mass of Alliance marines. He detoured to his right.

"Attention all Crucible personnel." Came a voice from speakers, mounted throughout the vessel. "This is Captain Halvic. The Crucible is hereby placed on force protection code charlie. No shuttlecraft may leave until further notice. All security personnel gear up and report to your squad leaders for assignments. Staff Sergeant Kal'Reegar of the Migrant Fleet is suspected of Reaper indoctrination and sabotage. He is somewhere aboard this vessel. If you see him, report to the nearest Alliance security checkpoint immediately."

Reegar quickened his step, heading for the labs. His omni tool pinged again.

To Creator Kal'Reegar  
from Platform 2435-3425-6576-23ta

We have compromised internal sensors and monitoring systems. You will not appear on any surveillance feeds. We have gained control of all secondary systems, and will intervene discreetly if deemed necessary.

Reegar took a quick left, avoiding an incoming patrol, another quick right into a latrine, waiting as they passed. He leaned against the door as they passed, taking a deep breath. He only had about 200 meters to cross, and his contact would be able to hide him in the labs.

He heard the footsteps of the patrol passing outside, and he waited for them to pass. Then a toilet flushed, and a private stepped out of one of the stalls, doing up his belt.

There was a moment of silence as the two faced each other across the bathroom, about twenty feet between them. Then the soldier scrambled for his weapon.

Reegar had the Geth pulse rifle, but was unwilling to shoot down an innocent soldier who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He fumbled with the latrine door, and burst back out into the hallway, preparing to run for it. A shout came from inside, then the door closed by itself, the holographic control going red.

His omni tool pinged, and he found a new message.

To Creator Kal'Reegar  
From Platform 2435-3425-6576-23ta

Private Gibson is trapped in the latrine, and his personal comms device and omni tool have lost reception.

Reegar chucked, and headed back toward the labs. Everywhere he went, doors malfunctioned between him and any patrols. To his relief, he finally reached his destination and slipped inside, as the door shut and locked itself behind him.

"Reegar?" Miranda Lawson said in shock, looking up from her work. "What the hell is going on? I take it they really are planning to attack the Geth then. Are you all right, where the hell have you been for the last eight hours? I was afraid to call in case you had gotten captured."

"Yeah, I got caught checking on those field jammers you sent me to." Reegar said, trying to ignore the way certain bits of her fit into her extremely stretchy jumpsuit. (or rather didn't fit, in this case.) "Halvic is going to jam Geth communication with the Consensus and destroy all the Geth ships in the battle group. After that, I don't know. That guy is a fucking psycho."

"Are you all right, and how the hell did you escape?" Miranda said, a concerned look on her face that made Reegar's stomach wobble.

"It's a long story."

Miranda looked impressed, and gave him an appraising once over. "Have you told the Geth?"

"Yes, but I told them not to intervene."

"Good," Miranda said, opening a drawer, reaching behind a mass of paperwork, and withdrawing a pistol. "Now we just have to rally support, cut communications with the rest of the ships, stage a mutiny, take down Halvic, and convince everybody that's left not to shoot us. I've done worse missions with Shepard."

"I talked to the Geth already, they are standing by to cut communications."

Miranda blinked. "Okay, that was easy. Now we just need to-"

"Attention Crucible Battle Group. This is Admiral Hackett." The voice came from overhead. "Captain Halvic is a traitor to the Alliance, and I hereby relieve him of command and order his immediate arrest. For those doubting my identity and motivation, know that authentication codes will be transmitted to the appropriate high level leadership following this message. I say again, Captain Halvic is to be arrested immediately. Also, Staff Sergeant Kal'Reegar is not indoctrinated. This was a lie fabricated by Captain Halvic when Kal'Reegar escaped with evidence of his treason. I am temporarily placing the Crucible and surrounding Battle Group under Geth command. Further orders will follow."

"What the hell?" Miranda said. "Since when are any of our missions this easy?"

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**Crucible central control bridge, 4 minutes 48 seconds later.**

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"This is fucking bullshit!" Halvic shouted, as he was dragged to the ground and placed in cuffs by two Alliance soldiers. "I had specific orders from Admiral Hackett to do whatever was necessary to contain the Geth threat! I order you to release me, and track down that fucking suit rat who-"

"This suit rat?" Kal'Reegar said, stepping onto the bridge, his borrowed pulse rifle in hand. Miranda followed shortly after him.

"You little asshole! I should have punted your ass out the airlock when I had the chance."

"That would have been wise." Reegar said, leaning back against a console as Halvic shouted obscenities and struggled.

"That wasn't Hackett on the intercom, it was a fake, I-"

"Hackett's authorization codes checked out," said lieutenant commander Novac, who had taken charge of the detail to arrest Halvic. "Now as you are under arrest, I advise you to shut the hell up."

The door to the bridge opened, and a squad of Geth poured in, most of the humans in the room going tense, still not used to working side by side with their former enemies. One of the Geth approached lieutenant commander Novac.

"We will handle the situation from this point. The Consensus thanks you for your efficiency and precision. A message to this effect will be relayed to your superior." The Geth said, looking at Novac.

"Right," Novac said hesitantly. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, your further intervention is not required." The Geth said, turning away to face Halvic.

Novac stepped cautiously away, motioning for his men to follow him, an order they were all to happy to obey. That left Reegar, Miranda, a dozen Geth, and a handcuffed Halvic.

"What's that human expression Halvic?" Reegar said. "Something about tables?"

"Fuck you, you little helmet head. I'm gonna get out of this and-" Halvic continued to rant, and Reegar ignored him with no small amount of satisfaction.

"Captain Halvic, along with any personnel who were aware of the full situation, will be brought to Rannoch, where he will be detained, along with Admiral Hackett." The Geth said.

"So Hackett really did order the attack?" Miranda asked, wide eyed.

"Yes, though his recent assistance proved invaluable to resolving the situation with minor casualties. Also, the Geth would like to extend their gratitude, not many organics would be willing to endure torture to protect us."

Reegar shifted in what he hoped was a close approximation of modesty, very aware of Miranda's prescence. Miranda turned to him. "They tortured you?"

"Yeah, uh, speaking of which, that reminds me." Reegar said. "Hold this," He passed his plasma rifle to one of the Geth troopers. "Uncuff Captain Halvic. We have some business to settle before he leaves."

The Geth looked at Reegar for a long moment, then released Halvic's cuffs and shoved him roughly to the floor and stepped back. Halvic slowly got to his feet, taking up a fighting stance and facing the approaching Kal'Reegar.

Halvic dropped his head and charged Reegar with a roar of fury, swinging a wide right haymaker, which Reegar sidestepped, pounding a short jab into Halvic's ribs, leaning back to avoid his wild counterpunch, then stepping in to deliver a knee to the man's stomach, knocking him off balance.

Reegar followed up with short vicious combos of fists and elbows, knocking the breath out of his opponent while avoiding his undisciplined attacks. Seeing this, Halvic quickly composed himself, taking a defensive stance, blocking Reegar's next strike and driving an elbow into his solar plexus, knocking the Quarian back. Halvic followed up with a right uppercut that Reegar managed to duck by a matter of inches, a left straight that thumped into his visor, painfully jamming the edges of it into his face.

Halvic moved in for the kill, catching Reegar around the shoulder and slamming him into a console, driving a short right hook into his torso that doubled him over, pushing him to the floor, and winding up to deliver a kick that would break ribs.

Reegar leaned back, Halvic's foot barely missing him. He deftly caught Halvic's foot, and lifted up, sending him sprawling on his back with a loud crash. Reegar pressed his advantage, delivering a kick of his own that made solid contact with Halvic's mouth, sending a spray of blood and teeth across the floor, his head flopping back to the floor with a loud thunk.

Halvic lay there, moaning quietly and holding his broken jaw, blood oozing from his mouth, and Reegar stepped back retrieving the pulse rifle from the Geth he had left it with.

"Well then, carry on gentlemen." He said, leaving the bridge, grinning broadly beneath his visor.

/

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**London, Earth, 1900 hours, resistance outpost**

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The Turian corporal had been aboard the PFS Havincaw for the battle of Earth. After being ordered to abandon ship, following the catastrophic damage done by a squadron of Oculi fighters, his escape pod had landed in London, dropping him straight into the furious battle on the ground. Since then, he had been fighting for survival along with Anderson and the rest of the resistance.

He explained this as he led Vega, Tali, Jack, and down a maze of storm drains and access tunnels that made up the resistance outpost. They passed others in the tunnels, the soldiers there of every race and gender in the galaxy, but all with the same haunted expression of those who are exhausted, but know that their sleep will bring only nightmares and not rest. Then all to soon, they would go out to fight again, and face the nightmare for real.

"This is our temporary conference room," the corporal said, opening the door to the small square room, containing a large oval desk, covered in a large map of London and the surrounding area, covered in various markers and models. "I'll leave you then."

The groups shuffled in, to find Anderson leaning over the map, looking more tired than they had ever seen him. He looked up to see the familiar faces, and for the first time since the invasion, a genuine smile crossed his face.

"I should have known the Normandy crew wouldn't be able to resist a good fight. Now we can kick some Reaper ass in style." He scanned the group, and his face fell, and all their hearts dropped, knowing what came next. "Where's Shepard?" he asked, already knowing the answer, but silently pleading with them to tell him otherwise.

"She didn't make it." Tali said quietly.

"Damn, that's-" He closed his eyes for a long moment. "I'll get the details later. All right, well we still have you guys, and do you ever look like hell. I have reports that most of your crew has been located, some of them are on their way here, some are at other outposts. Why don't you guys get cleaned up and re-supplied. Our fecilites are hardly state of the art, but we have enough water to wash with, and food and ammo, so that's something at least. Then when most everyone gets here, we can get back together and I go over the plan."

"Sounds good," Vega said, catching the undertone. "Come on guys, let's go get some ammo." They filed out, leaving Anderson alone.

The admiral stood over the table for a long time, wanting to smash it, to rip every piece of furniture in this office to shreds. Instead, he sat down at a desk, staring blankly at the floor, and wept quietly, for the death of Shepard, for Coats, for all the good people, humans and aliens alike who died fighting here, but most of all, for the death of hope.

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Three hours later, Vega, Tali, Garrus, Jack, Wrex, Kaidan, Cortez, and Liara stood in the conference room, waiting for Anderson to return. Garrus and Kaidan had found their way in two hours ago, Dr. Chakwas and private Campbell had showed up an hour earlier, reporting that they had met up with ensign Copeland, but he had been killed by a ravager. Chakwas was now busy, helping with the medical efforts, which never ended.

Cortez had piloted the shuttle away from the Normandy, packed full of crew members, only to be noticed by a Hades cannon when he dropped below cloud level. He had pulled some fancy flying, the incoming fire only grazing the shuttle, causing him to crash land into an apartment complex some eight kilometers to the east. About half of the surviving crew had reached the outpost alive.

"Right then, here's my plan." Anderson said, entering the room. "I've just got the latest intel from our scouts. Grunt seems to be having too much fun in this war." He pointed to a position on the map. "The Reapers have a transporter beam here, which they use to transport humans up to the Citadel in orbit, where they do God only knows what to them. Poor bastards. If we get to this beam, we get a free ticket to the Citadel."

"Yeah, that was the original plan." Vega said, "But without a way to get the Crucible here, what's the point in going up there?"

"I've had some sketchy contact with the rest of the Galaxy." Anderson said. "The Geth have built massive fleets. They don't have the numbers they need to give the Reapers a stand up fight yet, and according to their estimates, they won't for another year. However, they believe that if we re-activated the Sol Relay, they could punch a hole big enough to get the Crucible to the Citadel."

"But the Sol Relay is out of commission," Kaidan said. "We scanned it at the battle. We need all new parts for it, and unless you have a spare mass relay hidden somewhere, it's going to be a five year trip to get some more."

"But we do have a spare mass relay." Anderson said. "On the Citadel."

"Oh, damn." Garrus breathed quietly. "How did we never think of that?"

"Somebody fucking fill me in here guys." Jack said.

"The Conduit." Kaidan said. "The main facility was on Ilos, but it has a receiving relay on the Citadel, you know, the giant relay statue that the Geth used to board the thing a few years ago for the whole Sovereign incident."

Vega said, "That's perfect, so we go up there, and then what exactly?"

"This is where it get's tricky." Anderson said. "We need to get up there, scavenge the navigation and interface systems out of it, find a working ship on the Citadel, get to the Sol Relay, then replace the damaged components, and signal the fleet to make the jump."

"And all without the Reapers noticing." Liara said. "Mass relays are also a mess of technology that it takes years of study to begin to understand. We would need someone who is an expert in ancient technology and has a working knowledge of experimental element zero based physics." She looked around the room.

"Nope, I usually just stick to guns." Garrus said.

"Not me, that's way beyond my area." Tali said.

"Don't even look at me." Wrex said.

"HOLY SHIT!" Jack shouted, nearly jumping out of her skin as Conrad Verner burst out from the closet behind her, babbling excitedly.

"What the hell?" Anderson asked in surprise.

"Bro, have you been lurking in there the whole time?" Vega demanded.

"You don't actually have to remove any of the parts." Conrad said excitedly, "All you have to do is connect the Conduit to the Sol Relay wirelessly, bypass the damaged parts of the Sol Relay by initiating a remote feed from the Conduit, sync the differential in element zero cores and navigational positioning systems, then you can operate the Sol Relay by proxy with the conduit." He paused for breath.

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about." Tali demanded.

Conrad looked around the table. "Well, I did write my doctoral dissertation on xenotechnology and dark energy integration."

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**Yeah, so now my brillaint plan to fix the relay is revealed. I've spent about a day trying to poke holes in it, and can't find anything major. Let me know if you can.**

**Also, I would like to point out that Conrad F^%&ing Verner just saved the day.**

**Please review.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, Chapter 17. You may be disappointed. This is the calm before the storm. Also, I have to go away for some time, and further updates may be few and far between for a while. Rest assured, I will work on it whenever possible. So, you can consider this the mid-season finale. More footnotes will follow.**

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"So," Anderson said. "Our first objective is to reach the transport beam. Now, Conrad here is our VIP. We cannot pull this off without him. His safety is our top priority."

Conrad grinned widely, and the others around the table pointedly looked everywhere but at him.

"I have other forces conducting diversionary strikes on other targets, halfway across town. Given their past tactics, the Reapers will draw troops from all nearby sectors to overwhelm those forces, and try to prevent them from retreating. This will cut down on Reaper activity between us and the transporter."

"How are we getting there?" Vega asked.

"Glad you asked." Anderson said. "We have three Mako assault transport vehicles standing by. All available resources have gone into outfitting these things with as much firepower and armor as possible. That being said, our best tactic is the thunder run. We rush through full speed, guns blazing. Don't get bogged down in a fight. If the Reapers drop in a capital ship, we have no assets that can stand up to one of those things."

"What about the little ones?" Wrex asked.

"Well, if you call 200 meters little." Cortez said.

"The destroyers are no joke either." Anderson said grimly. "However, we have some artillery support, which has been moderately effective in the past. Also, while the mass accelerator cannon isn't really big enough to do serious damage, we have forced destroyers to withdraw with concentrated fire before."

"Try doing that with an M-44 Hammerhead." Vega muttered.

"So," Anderson continued, ignoring him. "We will proceed to the transport beam, then once on the Citadel, we will move as quickly as possible to the Conduit, sync it to the Sol Relay, and use it to send a signal to the fleet."

"So what happens then?" Tali asked. "We're going to be sitting on the Citadel surrounded by angry Reapers. If they destroy the Conduit, we'll be back to where we started."

"The fleet is aware of the situation. They will be carrying spare relay parts, and once they are here, they can repair the Sol Relay at their leisure. We will then leave a team to guard the Conduit, and the rest of us will go to the Cdntrol room, and activate the defense systems, which might just keep us alive until the fleet gets to us. Then we hook up the crucible, and after that, it's anybody's guess."

"So the rest of the galaxy still hasn't figured out what it does?" Liara asked.

"I'm afraid not." Anderson said. "It's still as likely to blow us to hell as it is the Reapers. But, we may be able to determine more about it when we dock it with the Citadel."

"You keep saying 'we'." Kaidan said, leaning forward a little.

"That's right." Anderson said. "I'm going up there. Occasionally admirals have to get their hands dirty."

"Do you think that's a good idea sir?" Kaidan asked, a look of concern on his face. "Without you, the ground resistance will fall apart."

Anderson sighed. "The truth is, we pretty much have fallen apart already. We've lost more good people than I can count. This is it. All our resources are going into this. We either succeed, or the resistance is finished. Grunt can lead the diversionary operation here. Besides, we're taking three Makos. As far as I know, Vega and Cortez are the only ones out of you who know how to drive one."

"You know how to drive a Mako?" Vega said, his eyebrows raising slightly.

"Of course I do." Anderson answered. "Who do you think taught Shepard?"

Kaidan, Garrus, Tali, and Wrex all groaned loudly.

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There was a new air of purpose around the outpost, soldiers carrying boxes of equipment and weapons with a new spring in their step and a sense of purpose. The waiting was over, they had gone all in, and were just waiting for their cards. One way or the other, this would be their last battle.

Tali walked through the maze of corridors until she found Vega, sitting on the floor in a smaller maintenance room, his shotgun disassembled in front of him, carefully cleaning each piece with an old rag. She stepped into the room, and he looked up.

"Well, it all comes down to this I guess." Tali said, stepping closer to where he sat. "I'm just glad somebody else had taken charge for now. Now all I have to do is shoot things."

"Yep." Vega said, immersed in his work.

"Are you all right?" Tali said, "do you want to talk?"

"No I'm good." Vega said distractedly, running a cleaning patch down the barrel.

Tali turned and walked out of the room, going in search of the rest of the crew. "Men," she muttered under her breath.

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Garrus sat alone in the conference room, his weapons already cleaned, the Mako's cannon calibrated, all the preparations complete. Now he just had to wait. He would be fine during combat, but in the meantime, the tension was unbearable.

He winced, thinking back to when Shepard had come down to the battery before the assault on the Collector base, suggesting that they blow off some tension. He had been certain that he had somehow misheard her, or slipped into one of his fantasies. The memory brought the pain of Shepard's death flooding back, but it also brought memories of the happiness they had found together.

If thinking of her would just bring one emotion, he could have borne it, but every time he smelled her scent, still in her cabin, or pictured the way she walked, or remembered a quiet moment they shared, he was overwhelmed. First there would be pain, he would remember her tackling Harbinger off of him, her futile struggles as she was lifted into the air, the sound of her neck breaking. Then he would feel a deep rage build up in him, which reminded him of Sidonis, and when Shepard interfered with his revenge. Then he thought of sitting with her in her quarters, watching movies, and he would feel happy, the memory vivid enough that he could almost feel the way her skin rubbed on his plates. Then came the sadness, knowing that he would never hold her again, never kiss her again, and never make her laugh again.

During his whole life, he had always been afraid to die, even on Omega, in his despair fueled quest of self destruction. Now, a crushing certainty filled him. He would not survive this mission. Instead of the fear he expected, he just felt numb, and a small measure of peace.

He lay his head down on the table, closed his eyes, and took one last chance to think of better days.

A few minutes later, the door opened, revealing Jack, shotgun in hand, her short black hair in it's usual messy state. A look of concern crossed her face as she saw Garrus. Although she was no expert on reading Turian facial features, she knew something was wrong.

"You all right?" She said, her voice rough, but with an undercurrent of compassion.

"I miss Shepard." He said simply, raising his head to look at her.

"So do I." Jack said quietly. "I wish she was here."

There was a long silence, punctuated occasionally by activity in the hallway outside.

"Is it time?" Garrus asked, his voice toneless.

"Yeah."

He stood up slowly, gathered his weapons, and they walked, side by side, neither saying anything, eventually arriving in the small bay where the three Makos sat, the rest of the team already assembled.

Anderson looked over from loading a box of 155mm rounds for the main gun.

"You two are here, good." He stepped away from his work and turned to face the group. They fell silent.

"We all know why we're here. We all know what's at stake. So many good people have died fighting this war. We have to finish it for them. For all the families who were torn apart. For all the children without parents. For all the friends who we will never see again. For Shepard."

"For Shepard." The team echoed quietly. They climbed into the vehicles, the door in front of them opened, and the bright sunlight of the London skies shone in. The three vehicles pulled smoothly out of the garage, and through the deserted streets, the sounds of war echoing in the distance.

One way or another, it would be the last war Earth would ever see.

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**So, the next chapter will be big, bad, and chaotic. All hell is going to break loose, friendships will be tested, guns will be fired, stuff is going to happen. The story may or may not end depending on what the Crucible does or doesn't do (If it makes it to the Citadel).**

**I apologize for the lack of substance in this chapter. It was really more of a footnote to the last one. However, I wanted to put up something before I left. Now, I can jump right back into the epic battle that is to come.**

**I have the general outline in my head for the next few chapters, with a big empty spot at the end. This is the farthest I have ever planned ahead for this story. That being said, any great ideas that come from readers will still be put to good use.**

**Please read and review, and I apologize for the upcoming delay in new chapters. I will be back at it in a month at the latest.**


	18. Chapter 18

**So, I managed to find the time to piece this chapter together over the course of the last week. I hope you enjoy. I have not edited this to my usual standards, but wanted to publish before I got caught up in other stuff. You may have to forgive a few more spelling and grammar errors than normal.**

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The three Makos rolled out of the tunnel and into the bright and sunny streets of London. For a moment, Anderson was unable to make out the ruins and rubble, and he almost expected to look out the window and see the normally pristine city teeming with people, shuttles passing overhead, storefronts bustling with activity. Then he saw the burned out husks of buildings, the 10 foot wide swaths of destruction cut by Reaper thanix beams, and the bodies. The bodies were the worst, the scorched and mangled bodies of civilians and soldiers, laying intermingled with the husks, the cannibals, and the marauders. They were all in various stages of decomposition, and he was glad to be behind nearly a foot of ballistic glass. That way, he only had to see the bodies, not smell them. Still, he felt a twinge of nausea when the Mako rolled over the fallen corpses of both sides, resulting in a slight bump and a muffled crunching noise. In the backseat, Jack cursed softly as she leaned forward to see out the armored windshield.

"This is hammer one, all vehicles report." He said over the radio.

"Hammer two, good to go." Vega's voice came from the console.

"Hammer three, we are up." Cortez called.

Anderson flipped the slider controlling the Mako's mass effect core, decreasing it's mass by %70, then goosed the thruster control, lifting the vehicle smoothly over a massive blast crater that blocked their path. They landed on the other side with a gentle bump and he cycled the mass effect core back to normal. About thirty meters behind them, Vega followed suit, his tires squealing a little as the 40 ton troop carrier slammed down onto the pavement, sending a spiderweb of cracks across the concrete.

Kaidan looked over from the turret console with a bemused expression. "You seriously taught Shepard how to drive?" He asked.

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The Marauder was caught squarely in the chest by the burst from the Mako's machine gun, spraying goblets of flesh across the street and nearby cars.

"Damn." Wrex said, swiveling the turret around, searching for more targets. "That one was even uglier than Garrus."

"Hey!" Garrus shouted indignantly from the backseat, cradling his sniper rifle. Across from him, Tali snickered.

"Something funny?" Garrus asked menacingly, his mandibles fluttering.

"Don't worry Garrus," Tali cooed soothingly, as if comforting a small child who lost his toy. "He's just mad that you're more handsome than he is."

"Damn right."

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"Hold on guys." Cortez shouted, as he hit the thrusters, lifting the Mako about three meters into the air, then increasing the mass, bringing it slamming back down, landing squarely on top of the ravager, pancaking the twisted Rachni into the street, the wheels stripping through it's exoskeleton and spraying streams of dark blood and chunks of broken bone in a wide plume behind them as he stomped on the accelerator, sending them lurching forward.

"Hell yeah!" Conrad Verner shouted from the back. "You know, I have six different model Mako's back at my apartment. One of them even came with the commander Shepard action figure, but I keep that on a little table surrounded by candles. Usually when I play with it, I use my Gi Joes. I also have a few M-44 Hammerhead models, but I like the Mako better. I even wrote a couple of fanfiction stories about it. In one of them, the Mako comes to life at night and drives around the Citadel running people over. You see, it was possessed by the ghost of an old veteran from the First contact war, well hold on, let me back up a second. The guy was with his family, eating some burgers when his daughter starts choking, then-"

Liara focused on the turret controls, trying desperately to tone out Conrad. This was going to be a long ride.

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"Four kilometers to the transport beam." Anderson said, entirely unperturbed by the muffled retort of the Mako's main gun as Kaidan reduced a charging brute to a few scraps of smoking flesh.

He gently applied the brakes and brought the vehicle to a halt, surveying the ruined street ahead. A massive pile of concrete and twisted support beams lay across the road, only vaguely recognizable as a toppled skyscraper. The mangled structure was awash with furtive movement as dozens of husks crawled out of the ruins to investigate the noise of engines and battles outside. "The road ahead is blocked by a fallen building, we'll have to make a detour."

Glancing at the rearview camera screen, confirming that the other two vehicles had stopped, he proceeded to execute a neat three point turn, ignoring the long abandoned parked cars on either side of the street, the massive tires of the Mako squishing them in a cacophony of crunching metal and bursting glass. Kaidan swiveled the turret around, firing a few bursts from the machine gun toward the husks before he flicked the rotation control back around to face the front as they turned the corner, looking for a way around the rubble.

"All hammer units, sitrep." Anderson barked over the radio as he brought the vehicle back up to speed, swerving around debris and smashed cars when convenient.

"Hammer two, green on ammo and fuel. Took minor damage from a banshee."

"Hammer three, green on ammo and fuel, no damage."

"Good," Anderson said, pulsing the thrusters briefly, lifting them over a crashed fighter that was half embedded in the concrete road. "Report any signs of Reaper ships immediately."

After receiving confirmation of his order from Vega and Cortez, Anderson pressed a few buttons, turned a few knobs, and the deep, silky, recorded voice of Frank Sinatra pumped out of the speaker system, singing about love and champagne and a time long past, providing a stark contrast to the sleek modern Mako, the ruined city, the piles of corpses, and the occasional burst of gunfire from the convoy.

"What the fuck?" Jack piped up from the back. "What is this pansy ass shit?"

"Shut up." Anderson said tersely.

"This is such-" she started again.

"Just shut up."

A flicker of a smile passed over Kaidan's mouth, watching the exchange as he worked the fire control console, scanning for threats. Jack paused a moment, then turned her head back down to check her weapons.

"Yes sir." She said grudgingly.

A few minutes passed, relatively uneventfully, until there was a deep concussion that rocked the vehicle, a stream of curses from each of the three occupants, and a pair of large, dark, winged shapes swooping low overhead.

"Harvesters!" Anderson shouted into the radio, his ears ringing. "Hammer three, proceed to the beam. Hammer two, cover them, I'll draw their fire."

A creature out of nightmares banked around the building in front of them, nearly eight meters from wing to wing, the massive dragon-like creature festooned with the hideous coils and wires of Reaper cybernetics, the faint flicker of it's laser sights coming to rest on the Mako as it flapped it's wings violently in an attempt to hold steady enough to fire it's cannons. Then Kaidan jerked backon the trigger of his joystick, the machine gun letting loose a long burst, spraying the Harvester with dozens of rounds, eliciting a howl of pain and anger as it's shot went wild, it's cannons blowing chunks out of the road just to the right of the Mako, close enough to rock the armored vehicle as Anderson stomped the pedal and swung the wheel, taking evasive action.

All three were pushed back into their seats by the sudden acceleration, the Harvester sinking it's claws into an adjacent building, turning it's cannon laden head to track them, only to catch a 155mm armor piercing cannon shell from Vega's Mako, sending the massive creature tumbling from it's perch, it's wings flapping wildly, falling to the road below with a shriek of pain, landing with a loud crunch. The creature stirred weakly, raising it's head ponderously to regard the Mako which screeched to a halt in front of it, the barrel less than two meters from it's face.

The five second burst from the machine gun first shredded the flesh and armor from it's skull, then hammered the bone away, finally scattering torn chunks of it's brain in a long greasy smear across the dirty cracked street behind it.

"Harvester is down." Vega's voice came over the radio. "Nice shooting Wrex."

Anderson surveyed the scene from his rearview console and reached for the communications control when three more Harvesters leapt into the battle, one landing at the intersection in front of them, the other two flying in quick, random patterns in the skies above, firing down on the vehicles below.

"Hammer three, get Conrad to the Citadel, we'll deal with this."

Kaidan sent a shot from the main gun hurtling forward to strike the Harvester in front of them, knocking it onto it's back as Anderson hit the gas and turned sharply, the incoming fire from the other two slamming into the ground around them. He saw the other two Makos speed through the intersection behind them, then turned his attention to the monster that came hurtling around the corner in front of them, rocking the Mako and it's occupants with a few well placed shots that sent warning lights and error messages flashing into life on the vehicle's display screens. He pulled a sharp left, pulling into thecover of a parking garage, the vehicle rolling lopsided, the steering sluggish, and making an unpleasant clanking noise.

"Weapons are offline." Kaidan said, running his hands over the fire control console in front of him with a look of panic.

"Any chance to fix it quick?" Anderson asked, driving deeper into the garage.

"Negative sir, the turret is blown clean off. Shield generators are offline, and we have multiple armor breaches."

"One Harvester down." Vega intoned triumphantly over the radio. "The other two are on our tail, Hammer three is free and clear and headed for the beam." Several muffled impacts came over the comm link, followed by some bad language. "Actually, we could use a hand with that."

"Our weapons are down and we're just about dead in the water, I'm not sure we can-" Kaidan started.

"Turn back around and lead them past the parking garage on 34th street." Anderson interrupted, beginning to climb the ramps inside the garage, slamming cars, shuttles, and other debris out of the way with the Mako's bulk.

"Sir, we have no weapons, and another shot from those cannon could end us." Kaidan said, his eyes wide.

"Suck on it you little pussy." Jack shouted from the backseat.

Anderson ignored them both, reaching the sixth and final floor of the garage, pulling out onto the roof.

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"Shields at 12 percent." Tali called from the back seat, tapping away on her Omni tool.

Vega grunted a distracted reply and he slid the slider of the mass effect core into the upper extremes, giving the Mako enough mass, and thereby traction to make the breakneck turn to their right. They were faced by the other remaining harvester, which slid it's long talons into the side of the tall office building across from the parking garage. Vega saw the faint blue gleam of it's laser sights flash across the Mako's windshield before there was a series of deafening impacts, the Mako grinding to a halt as it lost power.

"Tali, we just lost the primary power cell, run a bypass for the secondary." Vega shouted as Wrex poured everything the turret could give into the beast, staggering it a little and disorienting it, but doing little damage before the turret overheated and stopped firing.

"We've got another one behind us, and this turret just took a shit." Wrex growled from his seat in front of the console.

Garrus glanced out the small armored window in the rear ramp to see another Harvester land in the intersection behind them and begin bringing it's weapons to bear on the immobilized Mako.

"Time for some fresh air." Garrus said, pulling the emergency release on the back ramp, much to Tali's dismay.

"Garrus, what the hell are you doing?" She shouted, looking up from her feverish work on restoring drive power.

He ignored her, crouching on the floor of the Mako and raising his Black Widow rifle. A single shot cracked out, creating a deafening echo in the confined vehicle, and the Harvester behind them recoiled and howled furiously, thrashing in agony as a tungsten coated mass slug entered it's skull cavity through a narrow crack in it's armor. Garrus took a deep breath, tracking the thing's movements, his talon tightening on the trigger again, the monster dropping to the street limply.

He leapt down the stairs of the ramp, turned, and brought his rifle up, aiming for the Harvester perched on the building in front of them, which had recovered from the damage Wrex had inflicted. As he drew a bead on the creature, a pair of blue laser sights bracketed his chest, he saw the faint glow in the cannons on either side of it's head as it prepared to fire, and he knew he wasn't going to be fast enough.

I'm coming Shepard. He thought, numbly aware that the last few moments of his life were ticking away.

Then Anderson's Mako launched off the top of the parking garage, colliding head on with the harvester with a crunch audible from the ground. The monster was squished against the side of the building, the Mako tumbling through the air wildly, firing it's thrusters strategically to slow it's descent. It slammed into the ground with a tremendous crash, a series of sharp pops as it's suspension broke, a spiderweb of cracks radiating out from the site. The Harvester dropped to the ground a few seconds later, it's broken body splattering headfirst into the pavement.

"Holy shit." Garrus said, lowering his rifle, staring at the massive dent in the building and the chunks of Harvester stuck to the front of the miraculously intact Mako.

"He just-" Vega sputtered. "He just stole my move. That was- I did that first, on Mars with the shuttle and the other shuttle."

Tali jumped out of her seat triumphantly, as the Mako's engine purred back to life.

"All right, I bypassed the damaged power grid and connected the secondary power cell." She glanced around at the rest of the crew and cocked her head inquisitively. 'What did I miss?"

The Harvester behind them growled weakly, twitching and raising it's head a few feet off the ground. Garrus turned and fired smoothly, a gout of black blood spraying from it's skull. The beast dropped back to the street, as if deciding to go back to sleep.

"Scoped and dropped." Garrus said, reloading his rifle with a smug expression.

"Bro, don't even bother acting cool." Vega called out from the Mako. "You can't top that shit."

The radio flared to life.

"Is there an extra fucking seat in your Mako, cause I'm not putting up with this crazy bullshit anymore." Jack's voice blared.

Garrus climbed the ramp back into the Mako and took a seat across from Tali.

"Don't listen to him Garrus," Tali whispered. "It was a good shot."

"This is hammer 3." Cortez said calmly from the radio. "We are about to enter the transport beam and will probably lose communications."

"Go ahead hammer 3," they heard Anderson reply. "Good luck, we'll follow in a few minutes."

"Hammer 1" Vega said, holding the transmit button. "Can you roll, or do you want to pile in here with us?"

"That is a negative on rolling, get on over here and pick us up before something else comes and-"

He was cut off as deafening, but terrifyingly familiar roar sounded, a massive shape blotted out the sun, and a blinding red beam struck, obscuring Anderson's Mako.

The ground shook, and the parking garage collapsed as a massive black segmented leg the size of a skyscraper landed on top of it, sinking deep into the ground. The dust settled, and Vega peered through the windshield and was paralyzed by a deep, soul crushing horror as he stared up at the colossal Reaper ship, it's spire disappearing into the thin wispy clouds above.

"Get us out of here before that thing steps on us!" Wrex shouted.

Vega's paralysis broke, and he glanced up the street, seeing a massive smoking trench, nearly five meters wide from the Reaper's attack, and no sign of the other Mako or it's crew.

His hands shook on the steering wheel, and he was terrified, watching the ancient, miles tall, god-like being turn to face them, the ground rumbling as it's weight shifted between it's massive legs. Then the hideous voice boomed out, echoing through the city.

"**I AM THE HARBINGER OF YOUR SALVATION. EMBRACE DEATH**."

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**And I'm sorry to leave you guys with a cliffhanger like that, but I have to go for a bit. I have been waiting to bring the real Harbinger into the story. No more assuming direct control for him. Well, he might, but right now, the miles tall cyborg spaceship has some scores to settle in person. Who will survive?**

**So, in my absence, I have had a brilliant inspiration for how the story will end. I have it all planned out We are looking at 5-8 more chapters here. I was going to have it longer, but I don't want to drag it out just for the hell of it. **

**However, there may be a sequel. **

**Also, it may be a crossover.**

**A new chapter will follow in a few days**

**Please review.**


	19. Chapter 19

**So, here's the resolution to last time's cliffhanger. Enjoy. The chapters are running out, no more than 5 or 6 more before roll credits.**

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"Is there an extra fucking seat in your Mako, cause I'm not putting up with this crazy bullshit anymore." Jack shouted into the radio, unbuckling her safely harness and checking herself for broken bones, following Anderson's intentional mid-air collision with the Harvester and the jarring six story fall that came after.

"This is hammer 3." Cortez said over the network. "We are about to enter the transport beam and will probably lose communications."

"Go ahead hammer 3," Anderson said evenly, as if he had not just driven off the top of a parking garage and rammed a cyborg dragon. "Good luck, we'll follow in a few minutes." He turned to Kaidan, who sat in the passenger seat, mesmerized by the endless stream of alerts and warning messages flashing on his console. "How's the damage look?"

"Thrusters and mass effect core are still online, shields are back up, running at 46% power, let me check the other systems." He typed for a few minutes, working through several diagrams of the Mako, all showing an alarming amount of flashing red. "We're not going anywhere," Kaidan concluded. "Two axles are broken and the steering isn't responding."

In the backseat, Jack quietly thanked whatever higher power might exist.

"Hammer 1, can you roll or do you want to pile in with us?" Vega asked over the radio, the connection growing slightly scratchy.

Glancing out the armored window to her right, Jack saw a fleeting dark shape in the sky, still above the clouds.

"Oh shit there's a-" she started, as Anderson started to speak into the radio.

Kaidan must have seen it too, his hand slamming down on the thruster control. Jack was thrown out of her seat by the sudden upward acceleration, the Mako lifting a few meters off the ground.

Then a blinding red light shone in the windows, a powerful impact jarred the vehicle, and Jack had the distinct impression that the world was exploding. In the split second that followed, she fumbled madly for something to hold on to as her head slammed against something hard and unyielding and darkness swallowed her.

/

/

/

"**I AM THE HARBINGER OF YOUR SALVATION. EMBRACE DEATH**."

Vega stomped on the gas as Harbinger turned to face them. He accelerated down the street, a red stream of molten tungsten and iron tearing through the parking garage behind them. Tali offered a quiet prayer to the ancestors as she gripped the sides of her seat tightly.

The occupants of the Mako were thrown tightly into their harnesses as Vega swung the Mako around a tight corner, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the Reaper. He gently pulsed the thrusters, lifting them over a pile of rubble that blocked their way, bringing them slamming back to the ground as another thanix beam tore through the buildings behind them like butter, missing the Mako by a few feet, the beam passing close enough to drop their shields and rock the vehicle up onto it's left wheels for a few seconds before it dropped back down to level, rocking from side to side.

"Wrex, hit that building ahead with the cannon!" Vega shouted, heading straight for the office complex ahead.

The Krogan warlord obliged him, and the anti-tank round tore a 2 meter hole in the wall ahead, ragged with broken rebar and smashed concrete.

'Hold on!" Vega screamed, goosing the thrusters and launching the Mako into the hole with a hideous scream of screeching metal and a series of jarring impacts. The vehicle came to a halt in a large dark conference room. Glancing at the rearview screen, Vega looked at the sunlight streaming through the hole behind them. He tried the gas again, trying to get them further into the building and put more concrete between them and Harbinger. He was rewarded only with an unpleasant grinding noise and a fresh set of error messages on his screen.

"Now what?" Wrex growled. "That giant metal ass-hat outside is about to fry us."

"Now we hope this building has a basement." Vega said, cycling up the mass effect core in excess of recommended safety parameters and increasing the mass as much as he could.

The floor of the conference room, already cracked from the unexpected weight of the armored vehicle, quickly gave way as the Mako gained nearly 250% in mass. They fell through into the room below, shattering that floor as well, tearing downward through the building like a rock through a house of cards as a thanix beam carved through the skyscraper above, the rumbling of the failing structure audible even over the chaos in the Mako.

/

/

/

Jack regained consciousness slowly. Ghostly images, memories, sights, sounds, smells, all swam through her mind. She remembered the endless series of prisons, the never ending cycle of violence. She remembered meeting Shepard, the first person who had ever treated her like a decent human being. She remembered the comforting darkness of her old hidey hole int he Normandy's engineering section. She remembered the muffled sound of Reaper thanix fire, and the sharp, ever present smell of burning meat.

Awareness returned in a flash, along with agony. She was laying in the Mako, or what was left of it after being grazed by a thanix beam. She was laying on her side on the floor, which was tilted at an odd angle, sloping upward towards the front half of the vehicle which was mostly gone, sunlight streaming down from the gaping hole. Her left side was pressed up against the floor of the Mako, which after it's brief contact with the massive Reaper weapon, was very hot.

Jack screamed at the searing pain of her left arm, side, and leg pressed against the burning metal, the horror of lifting her arm and seeing the skin blackened and bubbling, her clothes melted and stuck to her seared flesh,, leaving chunks of both her shirt and her skin stuck to the floor like bits of burnt egg in a frying pan. Adrenaline flooded through her and she scrambled to her feet and leapt out of the tilted Mako, landing awkwardly, the pain worsening as her burnt left side contacted the road outside. She took a moment to survey her injuries, the burns making up a solid mass that stretched from her left ankle, up the side of her leg and torso, and ending on the side of her left hand.

"Gotta get the fuck out of here." She muttered, glancing up a the looming shape of Harbinger, currently turned away from her, firing at Vega and the others.

Then she saw Anderson.

He was dead. That much was certain. Her mouth tightened and she turned away. She wanted to remember him as the brave leader of the Alliance, not like this, a mass of burnt flesh and shattered bone. She limped around the corner of the Mako, every step sending pain shooting up and down her side as her clothing, melted to the burnt side of her body, tugged and pulled with every movement.

She found Kaidan laying on his back, covered in scorch marks, one of his legs twisted at an odd angle, his right arm severed neatly between his elbow and hand, leaving only a blackened cauterized stump. Despite his injuries, he appeared to be relatively coherent as he began gesturing urgently at Jack with his good arm. She picked up an unsteady jog towards him, and he lifted his head.

"Play dead." He croaked, as Jack approached, crouching at his side.

"Kaidan, we've got to get out of here." She said urgently, glancing up at Harbinger who was still occupied with the other Mako, and trying to pull him up by his left arm. He resisted.

"No," he whispered, his eyes wide with fear, but determined. "You'll never make it dragging me around, run for it. I'll lay here and play dead. Maybe I'll be able to slip away later."

"Kaidan, don't be a douche," Jack hissed. "Get your ass up and come with me."

He started to reply, but went silent as he looked behind Jack, his eyes going wide with terror, the expression of a wounded rabbit noticing an oncoming train. The firing had stopped, and the previously sun soaked street was now covered in shadow.

Jack rose to her feet and turned slowly, preparing herself for what was to come, telling herself that no matter what happened, she was not afraid to die. She would not cry. She would not tremble, whimper, or beg. She would stare death in the face, pausing only to spit in his face. She was wrong

Four massive red eyes observed her from nearly 300 meters above, bearing both the cold calculating detachment of a machine designed only to kill, and the all knowing, soul shriveling stare of every monster that ever haunted her dreams. She felt the sense of the dim red orbs gazing deep into her very soul, cataloguing her every hope, fear, and thought, finding them all irrelevant, looking at her like a cruel boy regards a tiny insect, a pathetic, insignificant creature only valuable for the pain and terror to be inflicted on it.

Jack forced her eyes closed, shaking uncontrollably. She opened her eyes to find the Reaper still standing there, perfectly still, like some hideous living monument built to honor the god of terror and madness.

**"YOU ARE PITIFUL. YOU ARE VERMIN TO BE CRUSHED, A BACTERIA TO BE CLEANSED."**

Jack yelped in fear and surprise as the deep, synthesized, but horribly living voice rang out.

**"PERHAPS _I_ WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE, TO SUFFER FOR _MY_ AMUSEMENT."**

The apotheosis of all nightmares shifted a little, the ground rumbling as it's weight shifted, turning a few degrees to regard Kaidan, then back to Jack.

"**YOUR FEAR ENTERTAINS _ME_. _I_ WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE SO THAT _I_ MAY HEAR YOUR SCREAMS AS _I_ DISSECT YOU, TEST THE LIMITS OF YOUR PITIFUL MIND AND BREAK THEM, ALLOW YOU TO WORSHIP _ME_, FORCE YOU TO WATCH THE DEATH OF YOUR SPECIES, MAKE YOU BEG FOR DEATH FOR YEARS BEFORE _I_ FINALLY OBLIGE YOU."**

Tears began to roll down Jack's face, as she composed a silent, pleading prayer to whatever higher power might listen, knowing deep in her heart, that this thing before her would prove more than the equal for any deity ever conceived by human minds.

**"IF YOU KILL KAIDAN NOW, _I_ WILL ALLOW YOU A QUICK DEATH."**

Jack turned and started toward Kaidan, overwhelmed by fear, despair, shame, and anger, knowing full well that she would carry out it's command.

Kaidan was trying to rise to his feet, but couldn't balance himself, sinking back to his knees as Jack reached him.

Jack's hands reached out, as if of their own accord, wrapping around his neck, not yet tightening. Kaidan, who had been cradling the stump of his severed hand an wrist, gently placed his good left hand on Jack's right wrist. He did not try to pry her hands away from his neck, rather, it was more as if he was reaching out for comfort, to have someone to share the final moments of his life with, even if that connection was with the person taking his life.

Jack hesitated, her hands trembling with indecision, sadness, and fear.

"**YOU ARE WEAK, A PITIFUL CREATURE FIT ONLY TO SERVICE _MY_ WHIMS AND AMUSEMENTS. KILL HIM, OR _I_ WILL BRING YOU TO THE LABORATORY AND DETERMINE HOW MUCH PAIN YOUR WEAK MIND AND BODY CAN ENDURE BEFORE YOU BEG _ME_ FOR DEATH."**

She had the distinct feeling of being a puppet on a string, her hands tightening on Kaidan's throat, eliciting a wheeze of pain, his eyes widening, but he still offered no resistance, instead laboring to speak, impaired by her crushing grip. Tears streaming freely down her face, she looked into his eyes as they began to dim. She owed him that much. He stared back into hers, managing to say one word.

"Manhole." He wheezed, his eyes leaving hers and darting to her right. Her grip loosened a little, and he was able to draw in a pained breath as she glanced to her right to see the dull gray manhole cover in the street, about four meters away.

A faint flicker of hope, and a spark of defiance rose in Jack's stomach.

Kaidan's body pulsed with blue biotic power, and he rose to his feet, slapping her hands away from his neck and propelling her away from him with a powerful throw.

She flew through the air, and slammed back down to the ground, rolling a few times, finally coming to a rest, her head spinning and her vision blurry.

Harbinger watched over the proceedings with detachment.

"**THIS BROKEN TOY HAS SHOWN MORE WILL TO LIVE THAN YOU HAVE. YOU PRIMITIVE CREATURES BORE ME."**

Jack shook her head, her vision clearing to find that Kaidan had thrown her towards the manhole, which now lay only a few feet away.

"I know the location of the body of commander Shepard. I will trade that information for my life" Kaidan said, standing to face Harbinger, drawing the thing's attention away from Jack for a crucial moment.

Jack tapped into her biotics and lifted the cover from the manhole like a cork from a wine bottle, the slightly bent metal disk launching high into the air as she scrambled into the hole, dropping down it blindly, falling feet first into the darkness and gloom.

There was a roar of inhuman rage from above as Jack landed at the bottom of the ladder, her ankle snapping with an explosive crack, sending her sprawling onto the cold concrete. She found herself lying in a storm drain, the dark concrete tunnels forming a labyrinth of passages around her. Jack scampered away from the ladder on all fours, rising to her feet and limping away as quickly as she could with her broken ankle.

She had not made it far when a blinding red thanix beam fired down the open manhole, the massive blast knocking her to the ground, the wave of rubble kicked up by the impact glancing off of her hastily constructed barrier.

She fled wildly into the tunnels, taking every ladder downward that she could find, otherwise following no plan. With only the weak light of her Omni tool flashlight app, she limped deeper into the city's underground, occasionally a thanix beam stabbing blindly into a nearby tunnel, illuminating the walls with it's nightmarish red light, or a massive lack armored leg stabbing through the ceiling in a shower of rubble.

After what felt like an eternity, there was silence. The only noise was Jack's ragged, sobbing breaths echoing through the darkness and her soft, shuffling footfalls. She sank to the floor in exhaustion, her back against the corridor and started taking slow, deep breaths, trying to slow her racing heart and get herself under control. Alone in the dark tunnels, completely lost, and terrified, the horror of Harbinger's gaze still stuck in her mind. Eventually, she could hold out her hands without them shaking too much, and she took stock of her situation.

She had no weapons, medi-gel, or communications. She was completely lost, her Omni tool's map function displaying an error message that it could not reach any satellites or navigation markers. She had no food or water. She still had yet to treat her ankle, other than tightening her boot around the fracture as tight as she could bear and wrapping it with her belt, allowing her to gingerly limp around on it. She had no way of treating her burns, which would soon grow infected without proper medical aid, and for the time being, she elected to leave her melted clothes stuck to the scorched flesh in the hopes of keeping dust and grime out of the wounds.

On the plus side, she was still alive, and not in immediate danger. While she would probably never get a decent night's sleep again, she had recovered psychologically and emotionally from the encounter with Harbinger that she could function somewhat normally. She also had her Omni tool, and although her Omni blade no longer functioned properly after her long disastrous trek through Ireland, at least she had the flashlight.

As if triggered by the thought, the light dimmed, error messages scrolling across the holographic screen.

LOW BATTERY.

HARD DRIVE DAMAGED DEACTIVATING OMNI TOOL TO FACILITATE DATA RECOVERY.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR NEAREST LISCENCED KASSA FABRICATIION DEALER.

THANK YOU FOR USING KASSA FABRICATIONS.

WE APOLOGISE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

HAVE A NICE DAY.

The light went out, leaving Jack in utter darkness. She opened her mouth to curse Kassa Fabrication and promise to find someone who worked there and punch them in the genitals.

Then she heard the screech of a Banshee echoing down the tunnel towards her.

/

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/

Cortez opened his eyes to the dim emergency lighting of the Mako, the vehicle tilted at an odd angle, nearly 45 degrees to the right. Out the windshield, he saw they were sitting in a plaza in the abandoned Presidium ring of the Citadel, one set of wheels propped up on a memorial fountain.

To his right, Liara sat limply in the passenger seat, stirring weakly. Her eyes fluttered open after a few moments and she took in her surroundings, pulling her pistol from the holster and checking the magazine.

"I can't believe it Steve, we made it." She whispered, reaching across the center console and taking his hand.

"If anything happened to you, I-" Cortez trailed off. "This isn't just a fling anymore, I care about you. No matter what, I want you to know that-" Liara laid a gentle finger on his lips, silencing him.

"Tell me after we finish this."

The two shared a wordless moment, cut short by Conrad bouncing up excitedly from the backseat, Liara and Cortez jumping in surprise.

"Oh my god, you guys totally just stole that moment from Fleet and Flotilla!"

Cortez sighed. "Okay, who knows how to get to the conduit from here?"

/

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**If anyone with an understanding of particle physics is reading this, please PM me, I have so many questions for you about the Crucible.**

**Please read and review.**


	20. Chapter 20

"So you're sure the plasma torch can cut that without causing some sort of collapse in the hundred thousand odd tons of metal and concrete delicately balanced above us?" Garrus said to Vega, as they stared out the emergency exit hatch on the floor of the Mako at the web of bent rebar and I beams outside that blocked them from leaving.

"Damn it man, I'm a marine, not a structural engineer." Vega protested as he checked the power cell on the torch. "What I can tell you for certain, is that we sure as hell aren't going to be opening the doors or dropping the back hatch anytime soon.

Following their crash into the building's basement, Harbinger had opened fire on the rest of the structure, bringing the 40 story building collapsing down on top of them. The Mako had sunk another 6 stories into the building's nether regions, the Mako totaled, and pinned in a nearly airtight tomb of rubble, but fortunately still structurally intact. The floor hatch was the only hatch they could open, revealing a hole that led further down into the collapsed building. According to the maps they had gotten from the resistance, the building's basement had a direct connection to the city's underground and the subway system. The only thing blocking their exit was the tangle of support beams and rebar.

"Uh, guys, maybe we should wait a bit." Tali said nervously. "You know, let the building settle, wait for cover of darkness, that sort of thing.

"Yeah, says you." Garrus grumbled, plucking a few more thermal clips from the ammo box of the Mako and dropping them into a pouch on his armor. "You don't have to smell the foul reeking hell that Wrex has inflicted on this truck."

"Hey." Wrex grunted. "I knew it was probably going to be my last meal, so I ate some meatball MREs before we left. They give me gas."

"We know." Vega said accusingly, clicking the plasma cutter to life, a brilliant flare of blue appearing out of the end of the baton-like torch. He made a few adjustments and began to cut. Sparks flew, the smell of hot metal filled the Mako, and severed lengths of neatly cut rebar fell into the dimly lit hole below, clanging and rolling loudly across the uneven concrete floor.

Several minutes later, there was a gap in the twisted spider web of metal. Vega looked at it appraisingly, waiting for the still glowing severed edges of the beams to cool before attempting to pass.

"Hey Wrex." He asked, glancing back at the hulking Krogan behind him. "You think you can fit through that, or should I take a little more off the edges?"

"What are you implying little human?" Wrex growled, leaning forward and placing one hand on the hilt of the massive sword that he still carried.

Tali snorted in laughter and everyone paused to look at her.

"I'm sorry," she giggled. "You guys and your egos. I'm sorry, please go on, I wouldn't miss this for anything."

Just then, a twisted, blackened, cybernetic laced hand reached through the open hatch, grabbed Vega by the collar, and pulled him into the recently cut hole with a startled curse. After a two meter drop, Vega slammed into the concrete below, landing flat on his back, his armor absorbing most of the impact. He heard shouting and commotion in the Mako above, then his attention focused on the husk, which leapt onto his chest, pushing his shoulders back to the floor, it's mouth opening wide, leaning down to sink it's twisted teeth into his exposed throat.

The air left his lungs as Tali leapt feet first out of the hatch, sandwiching the husk between them, the creature arching it's back and trying to twist around to deal with this new threat. Tali straddled the husk's back, pinning it against Vega as she pulled it's head back with one gloved hand and forced the barrel of her submachine gun into it's temple with her other hand.

She fired a three round burst, parallel to the floor to avoid hitting Vega, spraying the contents of the creature's head across the floor, herself, and Vega. The husk dropped the remains of it's head limply onto Vega's chest, gore still oozing onto his armor, as Garrus dropped from the hatch above, surveying the scene coolly.

"Um Tali, could you maybe get off now?" Vega muttered quietly, wiping the blood off his face.

"No rush." Garrus intoned smoothly. "I believe this is what humans refer to as a 'Kodiak moment'"

"Quiet you boshtet." Tali said, climbing off and wiping the blood from her visor. "And it's called a Kodak moment."

"Well, I have no choice but to defer to the expert in Quarian on Husk on Human relations."

Wrex's legs appeared in the hole above, followed by some kicking, some grunting, some struggling, and a few words he had learned from Jack.

"You okay Wrex?" Tali asked, looking at the pair of thick, armor clad Krogan legs dangling through the hole.

"I'm fine." an angry, but slightly muffled reply came from above. "It's just a bit tight around the chest."

Wrex popped through the hole, landing on the remains of the husk with a wet thud. He looked around the group with what passed for a sheepish expression among Krogan.

"Sorry, my sword got caught on the seat."

"So, anyway," Vega said loudly, "If we just keep heading down, we should find a way into the drainage system, the metro, something. So, let's get started."

They proceeded into the labyrinthine maze of the rubble strewn building.

/

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/

"This is Hammer three, does anyone copy, over?" Cortez whispered into the radio.

Only silence followed.

"Oh goddess, I hope they're all right." Liara said, looking nervously around the abandoned presidium ring. "Have you tried reaching them on the satellite uplink?"

"No, that's our only way to contact the fleet once we fix the crucible. I'm worried the Reapers could triangulate our position if we use it." He checked his rifle nervously. "Besides, our local radios should reach them if they were on the Citadel. As a result, we can assume they are either still on Earth, or they didn't make it. Anyway, I don't see any other choice than to proceed without them."

They crept through the empty, silent Citadel, weapons ready, expecting to be attacked at any moment, but they had not seen any sign of Reaper troops.

"Conrad," Liara asked. "How long will it take you to link the Conduit to the Sol Relay?"

"No idea." Conrad said cheerfully. "I've never done this before."

"Well, it's about another four hours to the Conduit at this rate." Cortez said. "Hopefully we'll have heard from the others by then."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Conrad assured him. "Jack didn't seem like a very easy person to kill."

/

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**"YOUR RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, THOUGH IT AMUSES ME. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR PATHETIC WHIMPERS ONCE WE BEGIN."**

Jack writhed on the square examination table. She was naked, the cold metal of the table leeching the warmth from her bare skin. Her arms and legs were secured to the corners, the thick padded straps tight enough to cut off circulation to her hands and feet. Four massive eyes stared down at her from above, as if watching an ant in a jar. The hideous eyes were the only source of light, and served to illuminate both her and the equipment surrounding the table. She could only guess as to the purpose of the numerous instruments around her, but what she could see served only to fuel her terror further, inspiring her to pull harder on the restraints, with no noticeable effects.

She lay there for what seemed like hours, the silence deafening, the eyes above watching her with a terrifying intensity, never blinking or moving. Then she heard footsteps from the darkness and she turned her head, squinting in an attempt to make out any details. The anonymous footsteps slowly grew closer, and she lay there on her back, balanced between terror and footsteps continued, the only noise in the massive room other than her racing heart.

Kaidan shuffled into view, his missing arm replaced by a synthetic one, an exposed section on his forearm revealing a tangled mass of gears and clockwork.

"Kaidan, thank god." Jack said, relief flooding through her. "Get me out of here before he comes back."

Kaidan stepped to the side of the table and stopped, standing very still, staring off into the darkness, his face blank.

"Kaidan?" Jack asked.

He made no visible response.

"Kaidan please," Jack persisted. "Undo these straps so we can get out of here."

He remained, unmoving, unblinking.

"Please, talk to me, shout at me, call me a coward, just do something." She said, a waver in her voice.

A few minutes passed, she made a few futile struggles at her bonds, and low, quiet whispers started, echoing through the room.

"Just let me out of here," She begged, "I'm-" her words trailed off as the whispers grew louder.

Kaidan turned his head slowly to look into her eyes.

"Kaidan?" She asked, the fear building in her stomach like a living thing.

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."**

His eyes shone a bright yellowish red, his back arched, and blue biotics crackled along the length of his body.

"**YOU COULD NOT ESCAPE ME. NOW _I_ WILL SHOW YOU TRUE PAIN**."

Harbinger's borrowed body turned to a rack of equipment and selected a few instruments, while Jack thrashed frantically in her bonds, a thin keening noise emitting from her throat.

He returned with an object, not much larger than a pen, with a small, serrated, circular saw on the end. The device whirled into life, the saw quickly becoming a blur. She screamed in terror as the hand extended towards her face.

Jack jerked awake in the absolute darkness of the sewer tunnel, a scream caught in her throat. After a few moments, she was able to draw in a few shaky breaths. She leaned back against the wall, grateful for the dull throbbing in her broken ankle, as it grounded her in the waking world. In the inky blackness of the sewer, she could make out no difference between having her eyes open or closed, and imagining that she would blink and find herself back in the laboratory was all too easy.

When she had reached some semblance of calm, she stepped gingerly to her feet, one hand placed on the smooth concrete wall to her left, and started a slow, careful walk down the tunnel. She had wandered the darkness for some time after escaping Harbinger, occasionally doubling back to bypass a dead end, collapsed tunnel, or sounds of Reaper troops. She could see nothing, usually hear nothing save her footsteps, and feel nothing other than the pain of her ankle and the burns on her side. She would have traded any sum of credits for a flashlight. With the lack of sensory input, she tried to let her mind wander to the few good memories she had, or even the bad memories, anything to take her mind off the present. However, any thought she had was quickly replaced by the memory of Harbinger, so vivid that she could almost see the four massive eyes in the darkness ahead.

Jack proceeded deeper into the land of the blind, resolving that she would not stop to rest again. Falling asleep was not something she ever wanted to do again. She was no stranger to nightmares, but usually overcame them by assuring herself that it wasn't real. This time, that tactic fell woefully short. Not only was there the distinct possibility that she would get captured and put in a Reaper laboratory, but it would undoubtedly be far worse than any twisted torture that she could dream up.

Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift back to her time on the Normandy, which despite the insanity that occurred on a near daily basis, were some of the best days of her life. She remembered Shepard constantly checking up on everyone after each mission, everyone snickering at the blossoming romance between her and Garrus, a constant stream of calibration related jokes sweeping across the ship. She remembered in particular, the disastrous, yet wonderful Christmas party held in the shuttle bay. That of course, brought back memories of Kelly Chambers.

I could really use a professional to talk to right now. Jack thought, or anybody for that matter. Hell, I'd even talk to Miranda.

Her hand slipped off the wall, and she stopped abruptly. By feeling around blindly, she determined that it was a doorway in the wall to her left, rather than an intersection into another tunnel. She hesitantly opened her eyes.

A very dim light shone from the doorway, probably only visible because of the hours she had spent in total darkness. Still though, it was nice to see something again. She could make out the general outline of stairs in front of her, and she proceeded forward, limping up the steps with difficulty, feeling purpose for the first time in hours.

Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of a deserted water treatment facility on the surface, shielding her eyes against the setting sun. Less than a kilometer away stood three massive columns, a bright blue beam rising from the center, disappearing into the clouds, starkly silhouetted against the orange and red sunset.

Jack wondered absentmindedly if she would live to see that same sun rise in the morning, and started toward the transport beam.

/

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**And this story is gearing up for an explosive finish. Only a few chapters left before the end. I still wouldn't mind a talk with a physicist, but Wikipedia has answered most of my questions. I owe it to you guys not to fill this thing with a bunch of space magic. New chapters will follow in the next few days.**

**Also, I have a brilliant idea for my next story. If anyone wants to know more, or get some input before I get started, PM me.**

**As always, reviews are appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Firstly I would like to apologize for the delay, I have been suffering from writer's block recently. Ironically enough, this never happened before I made an outline for what happened next in the story. Now however, I am back on track.**

**Secondly, I would like to present chapter 21 of The Death of Hope. **

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The silence was deafening, the emptiness pushing inward on Cortez like a crowd of ghosts. Every muscle in his body was tensed, his rifle was in his hands, gripping it until his knuckles were white. He stood on the walkway, the Conduit to his back, scanning for any sign of movement, any hint of an imminent attack. But there was nothing. They had arrived at the Conduit five hours ago, Conrad getting to work immediately on his omni tool.

There had been little progress made since then. At first when Conrad was able to connect his Omni tool directly to the Conduit's systems and determined that it's navigation and computer systems were functioning perfectly, a ray of hope shone through the darkness, and Cortez thought that they would be able to activate the relay in a matter of minutes.

Then Conrad said he needed a few minutes to run some calculations. Minutes turned to hours, and now Cortez was standing guard, sure that the Reapers would attack any moment. Although they had seen no sign that the Reapers were aware of their presence on the Citadel, that did not stop him from jumping every time a Keeper scuttled into view.

He had tried to help Conrad, but could not make any sense out of non Newtonian dark energy streaming or Keplerian exceptions. Liara sat with him, her knowledge of Prothean technology proving useful, but Cortez stood alone, feeling like the dumbest guy in the galaxy.

Liara's familiar footsteps approached from behind and he turned, the sight of her like a sunrise in the mountains, bringing a smile to his face despite the circumstances.

"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Liara asked.

"Hmm," Cortez said. "What's the bad news?"

"Well, the bad news is that the Conduit was only ever designed to be linked to Ilos, and it's subspace transmitter can't be reconfigured to interface with the Sol relay with the equipment we have with us."

Cortez leaned back against the railing behind him, exhaling forcefully.

"However," Liara continued, "Conrad is pretty sure, and I agree, that we could route the necessary navigation data and computations through the Citadel's subspace communications hub, and send that data to the Sol Relay."

"But Relays transmit massive amounts of data." Cortez protested. "We're not just talking a vid message here, we would need most of the bandwidth from the entire hub, and I'm pretty sure that firing up the commo hub will tip the Reapers off that someone is here."

"Well, yes." Liara allowed. "So we just wait until we have the Conduit ready to uplink, then we activate the hub. Then the fleet comes and saves us."

Cortez sighed. "Well, it wasn't like we had an exit plan anyway."

He lowered his rifle, taking one hand off the forward grip to place it tenderly on Liara's shoulder. "No matter how this ends, I just want you to know that the time we had together, well, I will remember it for the rest of my life."

Liara leaned in, gently brushing her lips against his, and leaning her head against the smooth gray armor covering his chest. "Given that the rest of your life is probably going to be a few hours, that's probably not a big deal." She looked up, her eyes meeting his. "But I will remember you for the rest of my life as well, whether that is a few hours or a thousand years."

Behind them, a figure stepped out of a corridor, shrouded in darkness.

"Liara," Cortez whispered, "I lo-"

Some subconscious warning prickled at the back of his neck, and he pushed Liara backward, spinning and bringing his rifle up, placing his sights on the approaching silhouette.

"Please tell me one of you dickwads has some medi gel, and/or some liquor, cause I am having a really shitty day." Jack whispered furiously, limping out of the shadows. "Seriously guys, it's been so fucked up, I'm like on the verge of needing a hug."

/

Vega groaned, his head pounding, something cold pressed against the side of his face. He lay there, his eyes closed, feeling as if he had a hangover rivaling those of his days in high school.

He opened his eyes to see a pair of eyes staring back at him, large and green and multifaceted, like the eyes of a giant ant.

"OH FUCK ME!" Vega shouted, instinctively slamming his fist into the space between the eyes, the impact jarring up to his shoulder.

The Keeper staggered back a few steps, balancing itself on it's four legs for a few moments before turning and proceeding down the corridor away from him.

"Dios," Vega gasped, looking around. "What the hell happened here?"

He was standing in a long, dimly lit corridor, corpses stacked up against either wall. They were mostly human, though a good portion of other races was represented as well. Some bore hideous wounds, some were relatively untouched. They lay there in various states of decomposition, Keepers scuttling around performing incomprehensible tasks.

Then his radio flared to life, making him jump a little.

"Hello," a dual toned voice asked hesitantly, heavily tinged with static. "This is Hammer two to any Hammer units, does, ah forget it. This is Garrus, is anyone alive?"

"This is Vega," He answered, "I hear you scars, are the others with you?"

"No, I woke up alone."

"Shit."

"Yep."

"Well let's link up and head for the Conduit." Vega said, readying his shotgun and starting down the hallway. "There's not much use in trying to find the others, they could be anywhere on the Citadel. We'll try them on the radio every couple minutes. If they lost their radios or something, that's where they'd go anyway."

"Hopefully we'll find Conrad already there," Garrus said, "because I don't know about you, but I wouldn't even know where to start with doing, ah, whatever he was going to do to with the relay."

"Amen to that scars," Vega replied as he stepped into an intersection. "Any idea where you are?"

"I'm in a long hallway full of bodies."

Vega sighed. "Somehow, I get the feeling there's a lot more of those on the Citadel now."

/

"Somehow, I get the feeling that this is going to be the least fun I've ever had after an Asari said she wanted me to take my pants off." Jack muttered, leaning backwards against the railing.

"Well, your shirt too, and your underwear." Liara said. There was a pause, and she blushed a deep purple. "Oh goddess, I mean, your clothes are all melted and stuck to your burns, and I can't treat them properly unless you take them off. Cortez was kind enough to borrow this set for you from one of the stores." She gestured at the neatly folded pile of clothing on the floor beside her.

Jack slipped off her slightly scorched jacket, setting it down before she lifted up the bottom of her T shirt, wincing as it pulled at her burned side.

"I would kill for a drink right now." Jack growled, her teeth clenched together.

She yanked up on her shirt, getting to about armpit height, the melted fabric peeling away from her burnt skin with a jagged tearing sound. Jack let out a choked and muffled scream of pain, staggering back to lean against the railing again.

"Fuck me." She hissed, clutching at the streak of bubbled and mottled skin that ran up the side of her body. Jack took a deep, shaky breath. "Can you, uh, get it the rest of the way? I can't fucking-"

Liara stepped forward, taking the tattooed woman in her arms, and gently but firmly pulling the shirt the rest of the way off. Jack bucked a little as it came off, along with a layer of burnt flesh, letting loose with another string of cursing, the likes of which Liara had never heard since Kaidan paid Shepard a visit the night before Ilos.

Liara laid the shirt down, the now topless Jack prodding tenderly at the burns with trembling hands.

Removing her pants and underwear proved no less painful, leaving a similar strip of raw and discolored flesh down the side of her left leg.

Liara applied the medi gel and burn lotion with soft and confident hands, trying not to let her eyes wander to other parts of Jack's anatomy. When finished, Jack dressed quickly, and Liara slipped an inflatable cast around her broken ankle, strapping it into place and activating it, rendering it rigid, supporting her weight without putting pressure on the fracture.

"Thanks." Jack said quietly, slowly placing weight on her injured ankle to test the cast. "I could probably fucking run on this if I really had to."

"Well, given the way things are going..." Liara muttered.

"I don't suppose you heard anything from the other truck." Jack asked, bracing herself to hear the worst.

"No, nothing. What about-"

"They're gone."

"Oh goddess,"

"Anderson died right away." Jack said, her voice dropping to a whisper, rough with the emotions she usually kept buried under layers of sarcasm and anger. "He probably never felt a thing. Kaidan made it out of the truck. He was hurt, and I was going to try to carry him to cover or something, but-"

"What happened?" Liara asked, a chill creeping down her back.

"Harbinger. He, he talked to me, he said he was going to-" Jack swallowed, taking a few breaths. "Kaidan distracted him long enough for me to get away. I always though he was a prick, but he barely even knew me and he died for me. I mean, what the fuck?"

"Are you okay, Jack?"

"If you tell anyone about this, I swear I will bury your mangled body so deep that not even your butt-pirate, archaeologist, friends will find it, but-"

There was a long quiet pause, as Jack nervously looked up at Liara's eyes.

"I could really use a fucking hug."

Liara smiled a little, taking the other woman in her arms. Jack buried her head in Liara's shoulder, hating herself for the tears that fell into the Asari's shirt.

"Don't worry," Liara whispered. "I won't tell anyone."

"Better damn well not." Jack sniffled. "I'll find you."

/

/

/

"Holy shit! Is that you Esteban?" Vega chattered into the radio excitedly, Garrus keeping a watchful eye on the empty storefronts beside them.

"Yes, this is Cortez" came the response. "Liara, Conrad, and Jack are with me. We have started in on the conduit and are pretty close to cracking it."

"Hell yeah." Vega exclaimed. "Any sign of Kaidan or Anderson?"

"They didn't make it." the pilot answered, his misery palpable, even over the radio.

"Damn." Garrus muttered under his breath, as he and Vega started over a bridge, the still waters of the presidium pools beneath them.

They walked on, keeping a steady pace, heading in the direction of the Conduit, bypassing damaged sections when necessary. The public areas were kept clean and clear of bodies by the Keepers, giving the deserted Citadel a ghostly, almost museum-like quality.

"Well, we should be with you in about half an hour." Vega radioed back. "Wrex and Tali made it to the beam with us, but Garrus and I both woke up alone. I'm going to try them again on the radio."

"Roger that, good luck." Cortez responded. "I'm keeping watch here, and Jack left a few minutes ago to scout out the Citadel comm hub, see how badly damaged it is and whatnot. A few extra hands getting it running would be appreciated."

"Tali, Wrex, you guys there?" Vega asked, holding the transmit button.

There was no response. They kept walking, entering an upscale restaurant district.

"I came up here with Shepard once, a few weeks after she rescued me on Omega." Garrus said quietly. "It was supposed to be the classiest place on the Citadel. It was before we were, you know." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Aware of each other's preferences."

"Seriously?" Vega asked, surprised. "I figured you two were whispering sweet nothings from the moment you met."

Garrus chuckled. "No, I was interested in that, but I didn't know enough about humans to tell that she felt the same way. I'm sure most of the crew had it figured out, but it took me forever to put it all together. It's just, I think back now, and I wish we could have spent more time together."

"I know." Vega said.

"The dinner was a disaster. I had made a reservation three weeks earlier, studied human culture, even bought some clothes that weren't armor. I thought I was good to go. But then we got there, Shepard was wearing some ridiculous black dress, everything I said came out sounding really creepy, then I went for the kill shot and told her I had been watching Star Trek. She got all excited and asked which one, and I said Voyager." Garrus sighed. "She nearly left because of that. I think she knew the whole time that I was crazy about her, and she was just sitting there, watching me make a fool of myself. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Conrad Verner showed up, babbling about conspiracies and the Illuminati and trying to get Shepard to sign his stupid toy Mako."

"Hey!" Vega blurted. "Don't talk shit, I've got a model Mako. That thing is bad ass."

"But then, I decided to try my hand at human swearing. I had never really gotten the hang of it, but I had been listening to Jack on missions, and I wanted to try to redeem myself after a dinner filled with borderline sexual, heat sink comments."

"I take it that didn't go too well." Vega asked, grinning.

"Well," Garrus muttered. "I told him to get his limp fucking nipples out of my sight before I punched him right in the goddamn asshole."

Vega had to stop to lean against a nearby wall, choking with laughter.

"Shepard laughed so hard she fell out of her chair." Garrus continued. "Everyone in the restaurant was staring. She couldn't stop laughing. One of the waiters called C-Sec, thinking I had threatened to sexually assault him or something. That didn't really help Shepard calm down any. Eventually I had to carry her out so we could leave before C-Sec showed up."

"That's awesome." Vega snickered. "Limp fucking nipples. I've got to remember that one."

"But then things only got more awkward when-"

"Hello, can anyone hear me on this thing?" A deep voice growled from Vega's radio.

"Wrex, that you?" Vega asked.

"I told you I was doing it right." Wrex muttered. "There you are thinking that just because you wear a fancy suit and a mask that you're the only one who can use a radio."

An indistinct curse from Tali filtered through, causing Wrex to laugh heartily.

"Yes, this is me." Wrex continued loudly. "I'm holding the radio the right way around now, and this empty Citadel is starting to creep Tali out, so where are you guys?"

"Actually I'm just fine." Came Tali's voice.

Wrex's sigh crackled through the speaker. "Okay, apparently Tali is just fine now, but maybe there are other people here who are having strong feelings about this place."

"Where are you?" Garrus asked.

"Well," Tali answered, pausing. "I forget the name, but we're in that place with all those stores and stuff. I see Apollo's cafe up ahead."

"Do you know how to get to the Conduit from there?" Vega asked.

"Yes. I'm pretty sure we can manage that."

"Hey Tali." Wrex's deep voice boomed. "Seeing all these abandoned stores got me thinking."

"About what?" The Quarian responded. "The nightmare you kept having when you were growing up about the jack in the box with the Thresher Maw inside and the-"

"No, don't talk about that, that was supposed to be private. Those other pyjaks on the radio can hear." Wrex hissed.

Garrus and Vega shuffled awkwardly, looking at the radio, from which emitted the sound of Tali's exasperated sigh.

"What do the abandoned stores make you think about, Wrex?"

"Well, there's nobody in them."

"Well yeah, that's what abandoned means." Tali retorted.

"So you see where I'm going?" Wrex rumbled.

"Other than back to school when we're done here, no, I don't"

"So the stores are all full of stuff, but there's no one there, and you want to send me back to school cause you don't get where I'm going?"

"Wrex," Vega said, "This is hardly the time to go looting."

"Hold on Vega, I can't hear you over the sound of all the free shit in here, just waiting for somebody to take it."

There was a sharp crack, followed by the tinkling of broken glass.

"Serves these people right." Wrex chuckled. "Charging four thousand credits for a fish. Hey, they've got weapon mods in here, anybody want anything?"

"Tali," Vega demanded. "Get him back on track towards the Conduit."

"What am I supposed to do?" Tali asked indignantly.

"Well, just do something." Vega snapped.

"Wrex," came Tali's hesitant voice. "Don't you think we should keep going?"

"Yeah, yeah, in a minute. I just need to take this rifle, and this knife, and-"

"Wrex, you already have like six guns and a giant sword, now come on, let's go."

"Relax, don't get your suit in a bunch. They've got jewelry over there, girls like that stuff, right, help yourself/"

"I do not like jewelry. I like omni-tools, and shotguns, and ooh, that is a nice pistol. I'm not sure the gold trim is really practical, but it does look good."

"Wait, no, Tali," Vega demanded. "Can you guys get a move on?"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll meet you at the Conduit."

Vega sighed loudly, Garrus chuckling in amusement.

"You realize that we are the best hope the Galaxy has of surviving?" Garrus asked, mandibles fluttering.

"Unfortunately, I do." Vega answered.

The walked on into the silent Citadel, unaware that they were watched through the many surveillance cameras still functioning.

/

/

/

In the darkened Communications hub, dozens of screens were lit, displaying the empty wards, deserted corridors, Conrad working on the Conduit, Wrex and Tali climbing through a smashed window, arms laden with various products. On another screen, a lone figure, covered in tattoos, walked slowly, shotgun in hand, every step carrying her closer to the Communications hub.

Then a light flared in the darkness. The single occupied chair in the room creaked softly as it's occupant leaned back, removing his cigarette and exhaling a cloud of smoke toward the ceiling above.

"So, Subject Zero has survived all this. Fascinating. I can't wait to see her again."

/

/

/

**So, enjoy the fluff everyone, because that is probably the last fluff and humor before all hell breaks loose. I would like to remind readers that I will be diverging majorly from canon regarding the Crucible, so there will be no red, blue, green, thing, and no blue kid. I have settled on my own concept which I feel is far superior.**

**Thank you all for reading. Please review.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Terribly sorry for the delay. I had been having some writer's block related issues. Also, I was working on a story for a contest. Also, I was writing up an amusing crossover that wouldn't get out of my head. Also I re-wrote chapter 5 completely. Because it sucked completely. Not much has changed, as far as the final outcome, but it sucks a little less. Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter 22.**

* * *

Jack walked through the empty halls, shotgun in hand. She was a little unnerved by the silence, as she associated the Citadel with someplace that is constantly bustling with life and noise. Having a shotgun helped though.

Following the signs, she left the graceful, sweeping, public area of the Citadel, and proceeded into the more utilitarian, technical side. The emergency lighting was still on, the faint, and occasionally flickering blue strips giving the place an eerie glow.

"So, Liara." Jack said into her radio. "How hard is it to boot this thing up?"

"Well, I know you're not the most technologically gifted," Liara answered, a touch of a smile in her voice. "So, I gave Wrex and Tali your location, and they should be just ten minutes or so behind you. I'm sure they can, well, I'm sure Tali can figure it out easily enough."

"When is anything we do easy?" Jack muttered, walking through the maze of corridors.

Eventually she reached a locked door marked, "Central Communications hub."

Through the transparent plexiglass, she could see rows of consoles and monitors, all dark. She brought up the omni tool that Liara had loaned her, wishing she had studied up on her electronics when she taught at Grissom.

"Are you there yet?" The Asari asked over the radio.

"Yeah, but this fucking door is locked, and I'm trying to do one of those bypass things, but this looked a lot easier when Tali did it."

Jack yelped in surprise, leaping backward and training her shotgun on the dark figure that stepped into view on the other side of the glass.

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to open this door." The Illusive Man said calmly.

Hatred bulged in Jack's eyes.

"You motherfucker!" she spat, every instinct in her body demanding that she pull the trigger, and keep pulling it until this man was a pile of torn meat laying on the floor. Time, and Shepard, had taught her patience, and she eased her finger off the trigger, knowing that it would take a far more powerful weapon to break the reinforced glass in front of her.

"Jack, Jack, are you there?" Liara shouted, anxiety creeping into her voice. "What's happened?"

"It's the Illusive man." Jack answered, not taking her eyes off of him. "He's locked himself in the comm hub."

Jack clicked the flashlight attached to the end of the barrel, and examined him more closely.

Streaks of bright blue tracked across his body, and he looked almost as much like a husk, as a man.

But he was more than a husk.

Thick nodes of machinery bulged, his suit cut away where the dark metal was welded to his graying flesh. Skeletal braces embraced his arms, legs, and torso, like the hideous exoskeleton of some monstrous ant. The pistons and joints were planted deep into his body, faintly bloody at the edges, where they entered him. His eyes were not merely the blank staring orbs of a husk. Each bloodshot eye contained a horribly mechanical iris and pupil, which focused on Jack like the tip of a laser guided missile.

"What in the shit did you let them do to you?" Jack gasped, her hatred of this man temporarily forgotten in the wake of her disgust and horror at seeing the thing he had become.

"I was wrong." He said simply, a faint electronic tinge to his voice. "The Reapers cannot be controlled, should not be controlled. They are merely gods, and we are merely insects to be crushed. But we can still survive. We need only to show Them that we can serve a purpose."

"Will you open this fucking door so I can put an end to your squabbling?" Jack growled.

"Jack, no." Liara said urgently. "He's indoctrinated. They are watching him, so they will know we are here. You need to convince him to open that door."

"And how in the sweet flying fuck balls am I supposed to do that!?" Jack shouted.

"Do like Shepard, it worked on Saren."

The Illusive Man watched all this with a thin smile. "You have been led astray by the woman you idolized." he said, his voice quiet and emotionless, "You should turn your love and devotion to Them. They will reward you, as They have rewarded me." He held out his arms for her inspection.

"I really don't want to know the answer," Jack started, her eyes tracing the changed contours of his body. "But what the hell is that anyway?"

"The Reapers themselves are the perfect killing machines. But they are too large to engage in the manual harvest of organics. They need servants. For many cycles, they have used the species they sought to harvest, changing them, twisting them to their will. But the process is inefficient. The Husks, the Marauders, the Cannibals, they lack intelligence, intuition, initiative. They are only imperfect puppets.

And so the Reapers have perfected the process. I went to them, knelt before Harbinger's glory. I showed him that we can serve a true purpose. We can accept their gifts, return to dark space with them, and sleep. Then, when the next cycle is ready for the reaping, we shall come back with them, as their soldiers. Every king needs servants, and every god needs priests. They have made me stronger, faster, better. They sent me here, to guard their Citadel. I am glad you are here, subject zero, for now, you can join me, you can be free of your past."

"Fuck you!." Jack shouted. "You stole my family, you tortured me, beat me, forced me to kill."

"Yes, and look at the strength that pain has given you. I watched the videos from Pragia. I listened to your screams of agony. But I think the worst was when we left you alone, in the darkness, never having known the kindness of another human being. How many times did you cry yourself to sleep in that tiny room? But still, you resisted. A spark of insipid morality remained. You refused to kill the other children in the arena. It wasn't until we stopped feeding you. Even so, you made it nine days before you gave in. What was her name, the pretty little blond girl. Allison, I think. She didn't even try to fight back, she just begged for mercy. I must have watched that recording a dozen times. I remember the way you cried, but you throttled the life out of little Allison anyway. I knew then, that you had the spark of greatness in you, and I needed only to fan it into a roaring fire."

Jack's knuckles went white, and her jaw clenched. "Shut the fuck up." She snarled.

"But that pain had a purpose. I screamed when the Reapers changed me. I begged for death when they welded the exoskeleton onto my shaking body. But now I am strong. You escaped before we could give you the last gift, before we could give you a purpose to balm the pain we inflicted on you. All you need to do is give into them, and they will give you that purpose you need."

"Listen to me," Liara shouted over the radio. "I'm the shadow broker. I know all about you, why you started Cerberus. This can still be undone, we can fix whatever they did to you. You need to open the door."

"Your resistance is spirited, but futile." The Illusive man stated, his eyes flashing a brighter blue. "But you too can be uplifted from the teeming masses of filthy cattle you call a species. You can have purpose as well."

"No," Liara answered, her voice ragged and desperate. "I know who you are. Your name is Jack Harper, and you are still a good man."

"JACK HARPER IS DEAD." the Illusive Man screamed, before calming slightly. "Jack Harper was weak, stupid, lacking in will. He has been replaced by something far greater."

"Please, just-" Liara started, when Jack yanked the headset off, deactivating it and tossing it into the hallway behind her.

"Enough of that bullshit." Jack said, her voice quiet, but filled with venomous hatred. "It's time to end this. Let me tell you what's going to happen."

She dropped her shotgun to the floor, drawing her SMG and pistol, and dropping them as well.

"You're going to open this fucking door, and I'm going to come in there. And only one of us walks out of here."

"Your proposal is acceptable." He said, stepping back and flicking a switch on a nearby console.

The door slid open with a quiet hiss, and she charged forward, taking a running start and tackling him around the waist, carrying him off his feet and back further into the room, both combatants going down in a mass of flailing limbs, Jack climbing on top of him, slamming her fists into his face, forgetting biotics, forgetting reason, forgetting everything but her all consuming need to kill this man.

His hands reached up, caught her shoulders, and threw her back, sending her flying through the air to strike the wall behind her, crumpling to the floor limply. He stood slowly, flicking the door control button, the heavy door sliding shut, leaving them sealed in the room together.

Jack's eyes flicked back to him, and she unleashed a powerful biotic throw, catching him by surprise and sending him reeling back into the console behind him. She got to her feet, and raised her fists in a boxing stance, as he shook himself off and advanced on her.

His right hook missed her head by a matter of inches, as she ducked, unleashing a flurry of short jabs and elbow strikes. Some of the blows he blocked deftly with his forearms, some he just ignored, his cybernetic frame absorbing the impacts.

He rammed a short uppercut into her stomach, and pain shot through her, the air rushing from her lungs in a pained gasp. Still, she managed to block his next haymaker with a hasty barrier, and she countered, slamming a biotically charged fist into his sternum, the force of her eezo bolstered fist enough to bend the exoskeleton of his chest slightly and lift his feet from the floor, sending him floundering back against the wall.

She pressed her advantage, leaping forward to pound a closed fist downward into the side of his neck. Cyborg or not, her attack elicited a pained gasp, and she launched another when his hand shot up and caught her fist, stopping it's momentum effortlessly. He yanked her arm out straight, and twisted it, bringing her to her knees, the pain shooting all the way up to her shoulder. His free hand came down on her face with a tremendous blow, a wave of darkness rising in the center of her vision, her nose breaking in a spray of blood. She fell limply as he released her arm, rolling over and struggling to all fours. She threw out a warp bolt, which he dodged, leaping to the side, the blue ball striking the ceiling with a crackle of energy.

Then he stepped forward and kicked her in the side, her ribs cracking like twigs, and the force of the strike flips her over, sending her rolling across the floor. She instinctively attempts to curl up in the fetal position, and shield her vital organs, but he is on her in a moment, picking her up by the armpits and lifting her to a sitting position. One arm remains on her shoulder, pinning her in place. Her head droops, her eyes unfocused, her breaths short and ragged.

One of his metal capped, almost insect like fingers reaches under her chin, and lifts her face toward him, with something akin to gentleness. His thumb brushed the tip of her broken nose, before settling on her left eyelid, which jumps a little as he caresses it. Then he slowly and evenly applies pressure, her body stiffening, her head jerking, and a low moan of pain and terror leaves her throat.

He released her eye, and she blinks, alert now, focusing on his face.

"You will look at me when I kill you." he whispers, and his hand wraps around her throat. Her eyes widen in terror as her windpipe closes under his vise grip.

/

/

/

"I can't get through the firewalls, we have to find Vega and get his plasma cutter!" Tali said, the urgency in her voice as she looked through the door to see the Illusive man begin to choke the life out of Jack.

"There's no time!" Wrex shouted, "We have to break in."

"Wrex, nothing we have is powerful enough to get through that glass!"

"Get out of the way!" He growled, hefting his M3000.

Tali retreated behind him as he fired, the thunderous discharge seeming to rock the whole Citadel. Ricochet pellets glanced off of his shields, and he examined the door.

A thin spider web of cracks radiated out from the center.

"Reload, quick, keep shooting!" Tali screamed.

He fired again, and again, the door absorbing the repeated blasts, the cracks spreading a little each shot, until the glass was opaque with stress fractures, but still solid.

/

/

/

"I had hoped you would join me." The Illusive Man whispered, as Jack plucked weakly at his iron grip, the light fading from her eyes as she jerked and heaved, her lungs burning for air. Her biotics flared occasionally, but she was unable to focus them into anything constructive. She continued to struggle, his soft voice lulling her into the darkness that waited at the back of her vision.

"But now you are dying. You put up a better fight than poor little Allison, but in the end, it's all the same. Give in, close your eyes and die."

Jack's mind flickered back to the horrible arena all those years ago, where she would be thrown daily, forced to fight for her life, knowing that no one would ever come to help her. She remembered their faces, the ones she had killed. She remembered which ones cried, which ones cursed her with their dying breath, which ones begged for mercy, knowing she would give none.

The all consuming rage filled her again, giving her strength, a final burst of adrenaline filling her veins, her biotics charging. She created a singularity behind the Illusive Man, surprise filling his horribly shifted features as the glowing blue orb pulled him backward from her, dragging him across the room as his hands scrambled for purchase.

Jack gasped for air, choking and retching, her head pounding with the sudden inrush of oxygen. The singularity collapsed, freeing the Illusive Man, who quickly rose to his feet and started toward her.

She stood her ground, a biotic pull using his momentum against him, accelerating him forward as she lowered her mass, leaped into the air, and increased it, slamming a knee into his face, snapping his head back with the impact. He struck the wall, and collapsed in a rough pile, struggling to his feet.

Jack did not allow that.

She rushed in, kicking him in the side of the head, sending dark blood spraying. She climbed on top of him, pounding her glowing fists into his face like sledgehammers, feeling bone and cybernetics breaking under her blows.

Still, he fought back, hands reaching up, grappling with her, pulling her down in a clinch, rolling on top of her arms tightening behind her back, her broken ribs screaming in pain.

The battering ram force of a throw, served to launch him into the air so hard that he struck the ceiling, Jack rolling to the side as he came crashing down. She got to her feet and delivered a field goal kick to his chin, twisting his neck at an angle that would have killed an ordinary human.

She pulled to a sitting position, punching him a few times for good measure before retrieving a short bodied fire extinguisher from the wall.

"You will look at me when I kill you." she whispered, as she swung the red metal cylinder in a short arc, pounding it into his head with a satisfying crunch. He rolled to the floor, coughing up blood and bits of broken teeth and bone, as she brought it down on the back of his head. Something popped in his neck, but he continued crawling, like a hideous wind up toy. She raised the extinguisher again, when the glass door exploded in a shower of fragments, Wrex leaping through, ready for battle.

Jack looked at him, a faint smile flickering across her bloody face as he laughed heartily.

"I should have known you'd kick his puny ass." He chuckled, stepping forward and grabbing the Illusive Man by the collar, pulling him to his feet and tossing him against the wall.

Tali entered cautiously, shotgun raised, relaxing a little when she saw the situation. She turned away and got to work on the consoles, lights and displays blinking to life around her

Jack stepped to Wrex's side, as he laid down his shotgun and unsheathed his massive sword.

"So, little pyjak." He growled, taking a two hand grip on the sword, judging the swing to finish off the Illusive Man, who knelt in front of him. "Any last words before I split you down the middle?"

"Oh, enough talking," Jack grunted, pulling gently on her broken nose and straightening it with a moan of pain. "Just fuck his ass up."

"Actually," The Illusive Man said, straightening his back to look up at Jack and Wrex. "I only have three."

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

* * *

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**Don't worry, chapter 23 will be out tomorrow. Many things will happen.**


	23. Chapter 23

"**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL**"

The blue streaks of cybernetics flashed a bright pulsing red, like the beating of some massive obscene heart as her rose, red biotics flaring, charging Wrex, the tremendous detonation enough to knock the massive Krogan flying across the room to hit the opposite wall with a bone rattling impact.

Jack snapped off a quick throw, only staggering Harbinger as he lunged for her.

"**YOUR ATTACKS ARE PITIFUL.**" he boomed, grabbing her by the throat and picking her up bodily, lifting her into the air. "**I WILL END YOU**."

Tali fired her shotgun into the side of his head from a distance of less than two meters, blood and flesh torn away from the side of his skull, revealing the smooth dark metal underneath. She fired again, a spray of broken blood and bone erupting from his shoulder, forcing him to drop Jack.

He advanced toward her, gunshots having little effect other than to flay the flesh from his mechanical frame, slowing him down a little, but doing little lasting damage. Steam sprayed from her shotgun, and she stepped back, drawing her SMG with trembling fingers.

As she lifted the weapon, fumbling off the safety, he ripped it from her hands, throwing it across the room as he grabbed her by the head, slamming her, visor first into one of the consoles, the screen going dark. He stood over her, biotics rolling up and down his twisted and bleeding body, like waves on a windy lake.

The world shattering roar of Wrex's M3000 filled the room, and Harbinger was blasted backward, gibbets of flesh and chunks of machinery ripped from his torso by the powerful weapon.

He slowly rose to his feet, Wrex dropping his shotgun and retrieving his sword.

"I AM KROGAN!" he roared, charging across the room, swinging the massive sword in a two handed arc.

Harbinger extended his right hand and caught the blade, the razor sharp edge sinking a few inches into his hand. He gripped the blade with his other hand, yanking it toward him, pulling Wrex off balance and slamming a biotic wrapped fist into the side of his wide head, knocking him away as yellow blood sprayed from the Krogan's mouth.

He yanked the sword out of his right hand, and dropped it to the floor with a metallic clatter, advancing on Wrex as the warlord tapped into his own biotics, wrapping himself in a shimmering barrier.

"**YOU ARE BENEATH ME. THERE IS NO HOPE, RESISTANCE IS FUTILE**."

Wrex growled and attacked, his strength and biotics placing him on almost equal footing with the possessed cyborg, trading heavy punches with him an a brutal slugfest, all tactics or grace forgotten. Wrex seized him by the neck, slamming him back against the wall, ignoring the blows the thing rained down on him, feeling his bones crack under it's fists, his thick skin splitting. His double hearts pumped with adrenaline and rage as he headbutted Harbinger, and began to pound his fists into the thing's glowing face.

Harbinger exploded in a blast of biotic energy, sending Wrex staggering backward as the red energy pulsed away from his body in all directions, a nova of debris washing across the room.

Jack finally reached Tali's dropped SMG, and picked it up, her vision doubling, her head spinning, but nevertheless, pointing it in Harbinger's general direction and holding down the trigger, all fifty rounds spraying out like a long blanket ripping down the middle.

Harbinger reeled, struck by at least twenty of the rounds, his will still strong, but his damaged body failing him, despite the implants. He dropped to one knee, has spasming hands reaching out to steady himself.

"**THIS DELAY IS POINTLESS. YOU HAVE DESTROYED ONE BODY, BUT THERE ARE THOUSANDS MORE, WAITING TO TEAR YOUR FLESH, GRIND YOUR BONE, RIP YOUR-**"

Wrex's sword swung down vertically, splitting Harbinger's head and torso down the middle, the blood drenched blade finally grinding to a halt near his sternum, blood and torn machinery falling from the separated bone and flesh.

"Hell fucking yeah!" Jack shouted, ignoring the throb of pain in her head as she spoke. She high fived Wrex and stepped out into the hallway to retrieve her weapons.

Tali rose to he feet unsteadily, a patina of cracks across her visor.

"I can't do this anymore." She moaned, holding her head and leaning against the console. "I think I'll get married and settle down."

"Jack, Tali, Wrex," came Liara's worried voice from their radios. "What happened?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you." Tali muttered.

"Jack beat the shit out of the Illusive prick, then he turned into Harbinger and I skull fucked him to death with my giant sword!" Wrex shouted excitedly.

"Uh," Liara paused. "So is the Comm hub ready?"

"In a few seconds," Tali answered, sitting down in front of one of the consoles. "oh Keelah, my head."

"Hey, so are there security cameras in here or something?" Wrex rumbled, sheathing his sword. "Because I need a video of that to show people. Wreav can suck one."

"Okay, Conrad is booting the Conduit." Liara said.

"Comms hub is ready for wireless interface." Tali answered. "Opening channel to Sol Relay."

Data flashed across the screens, and the consoles and servers began to hum with activity.

"Guys, it's working, I can't believe it." Tali exclaimed. "The relay is reading as functional."

"So now what?" Jack muttered holding her head.

/

Crucible Battle Group, Exodus cluster.

Kal'Reegar watched out the observation window as the Relay sparked to life, entire fleets of Geth ships pouring into it, like ants swarming into battle. The massive juggernaut ship composed of crudely re purposed Reaper corpses charged by, dominating the window before it accelerated smoothly away, entering the relay.

Thousands of Geth ships stood ready to enter, to secure the far side of the relay before the Crucible came through.

"Attention Crucible Battle Group." the voice blared from the speakers overhead. "This is Admiral Hackett, acting commander of the Crucible fleet. The relay is active. Begin operation Typhoon. I say again, begin operation Typhoon. All designated escort ships form up on the crucible. Forward marine force prepare for deployment. In fifteen minutes, we will pass through that relay and bring blood and terror down on the Reapers."

Massive vibrations rocked the ship as it's engines fired up, taking it's position next to the bulbous Crucible, and preparing to make the jump.


	24. Chapter 24

Seanne's biotics flashed, lifting the marauder into the air, Grunt blowing it into pieces with his M-3000.

"Nice shot." Seanne called, taking cover in the trench.

The surface of London was torn by war. The resistance base was under siege, Reaper troops pushing forward on all the entrances to the underground compound. There was no escape, no retreat. All they could do was fight as long as they could, and delay the inevitable.

Less than a platoon of combat effective soldiers manned Seanne's barricade, and the Reaper troops were endless.

"They're coming again on the left!" Private Cambell shouted, leaning up over the mass of dirt and broken concrete that made up their defenses, and firing short bursts with her rifle. "200 meters, 10 o clock, nearly seventy husks!"

Their single remaining heavy machine gun let loose a deadly rain of high caliber slugs, tearing through the mass of husks that charged into their killzone. The gunner stopped to reload, having killed nearly half the husks. The rest of the soldiers split the difference, the massed fire from their small arms putting the shrieking creatures down permanently.

The battle raged on, ammunition reserves dropping, Seanne estimating that they could keep up this rate of fire for no more than ten minutes before shooting themselves dry. Then an ear splitting mechanical roar filled the sky, a towering figure dropping into the city to their front, kicking up a shockwave of dust that rolled out of the broken buildings to cover the barricade.

After a few moments, it cleared, revealing the capital ship standing in the broken city to their front, silhouetted starkly against the rising sun. For a moment, it was still, like a terrible statue, before it turned toward them, it's hideous red eye glowing malignantly.

"Fall back to the bunker!" Seanne shouted, the soldiers not needing to be told twice.

They scrambled out of the trench, as a red, glowing beam of death and terror stretched out, obliterating their position, shaking the earth, kicking up a spray of rubble and debris.

The survivors, less than a dozen in all, scrambled into the hand dug entrance to the resistance tunnels, Seanne pausing to take one last look at the world above. She knew, that she would die in these tunnels, that this would be the last time she saw the sky.

A single husk leaped around the corner and rushed her, Seanne knocking it away with an indifferent throw, sending the creature sprawling back down the slope. She breathed in the smoke filled air one last time, and she strode into the tunnels.

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"Report!" Admiral Hackett shouted, sitting in the captain's chair of the Ascencion class dreadnought, McKinley.

"We've dropped out of FTL, sir" his first officer called back. "Vanguard fleet is reporting in, everything is going according to plan, Earth is 90,000 kilometers to starboard."

"Order all ships to begin the assault. We will secure the Citadel."

The McKinley fired it's thrusters, edging out from behind Earth's moon, the planet coming into view. The Reaper fleet, already aware of their presence, surged forward to meet them, like massive, hideous beetles storming out to do battle with ants.

"Shields up, charge weapons." Hacket ordered, watching the Geth cruisers and missile frigates break formation to charge the oncoming Reapers.

The Reapers opened fire, each shot tearing a Geth ship to shreds. But the Geth were like sand on the seashore, and the surviving ships soon reached firing range.

The missile frigates released salvo after salvo of thanix missiles, the swarms of missiles slamming into their targets, detonating in bursts of orange and red as they flared off barrier shields. Reaper GARDIAN fire and countermeasures flashed out into the void, but the rapid fire missiles were too many, weakening the shields of the capital ships and tearing a few of the smaller destroyers apart.

"All ships, fire at will." Hackett barked over the fleet-wide net.

He watched out the view-screen of the bridge, with no small amount of satisfaction, as a deadly rain of thanix bolts and mass slugs exploded from the fleet, shredding the front Reaper ships. The McKinley bucked, it's main gun firing, sending a 70 kilogram mass slug hurtling across the gap between the fleets, a brilliant contrail of blue dragging behind it, the slug hammering into a Reaper carrier, tearing through it's already pitted and weakened armor, spraying out the other side in a corona of broken metal, gutting the ship like a bullet through an apple.

"Admiral," one of his Geth officers said. "The missile frigates have expended their combat loads. They are returning to their carriers to re-arm."

"Dreadnought group, all stop, carrier groups, launch fighters to attack targets of your discretion." Hacket responded, the battle raging furiously before his eyes. "Have them engage the capital ships with their Javelin torpedoes. Once their shields are down, we can do the rest."

The fighters streaked through the halted dreadnoughts, closing with the enemy ships, lighting up the darkened void with the whisper thin trails of their rapid fire railguns, javelin torpedoes flickering out from their weapons ports to detonate against Reaper shields.

But despite their losses, the Reapers charged forward, rapidly closing the gap, the incoming fire obliterating the dreadnought directly to the McKinley's starboard.

"Well, you don't meet an enemy charge by sitting in the trenches!" Hackett shouted, aware of the terror his crew must feel, watching the creatures of nightmare bearing down on them. It was a terror he shared. "Carrier group, fall back, dreadnought group, all forward! Their main guns only have a 45 degree firing arc. Close the distance and engage with broadside cannons." He turned to his helmsman. "Full thrusters, reroute auxiliary power to the forward shields, charge broadside thanix beams and open the dorsal missile ports."

The McKinley accelerated smoothly, it's sleek, kilometer long form, rushing to meet the oncoming charge. It's main gun thumped a few more times, shattering a Reaper destroyer into pieces and disabling the main gun on a capital ship. Then the two fleets met, and colorful chaos bloomed around him.

"Shields at 70% sir, broadside thanix beams are ready." His first officer called, thumbing through the holographic display of his console

"All gunnery crews, fire at will, helm crew, take evasive action where possible," A Reaper loomed before them, it's main gun charging, only to be obliterated by a salvo of thanix missiles from the missile frigates, who had re-armed and returned to the fight. The Reaper's eezo core detonated, the shockwave parting around their shields sending chunks of shrapnel the size of frigates to slam into the Mckinley, the ship rocking wildly under the impacts, lights flickering. "Damage report!"

"Shields at 15%, multiple stress fractures in the hull, barriers are holding."

"Emergency power to shields, intensify fire in the forward batteries, I don't want anything getting through!" Hackett responded.

Their thanix beams exploded to life, scything out into the night, carving ragged chunks into Reaper hulls. Missiles flared from the dorsal and ventral launch ports, their GARDIAN lasers fired in bursts of ultraviolet, reducing Oculi fighters to chunks of molten wreckage.

A resounding crash rolled through the ship, Hackett flung wildly around in his seat.

"Sir!" his helmsman shouted, panic blooming in his eyes. "A destroyer landed on our dorsal hull, it's charging it's main gun to-"

The ship rocked again, warning lights and alarms flashing to life around the bridge.

"Report!" Hackett demanded.

"It's firing into the hull, shields are down, and our weapons in that section are down, decks 34 through 22 are damaged, casualty reports are coming in, multiple hull breaches, barriers are offline, pressure in engineering is dropping!"

"Divert all remaining power to maneuvering thrusters and engines. Helm crew, scrape this thing off my ship!"

The thrusters burned, the 1.5 gees of acceleration pushing Hackett back into his seat, the helmsman steering them in toward the massive form of a destroyed Reaper. It filled their viewscreen, as the came closer and closer, and then-

The screech of metal on metal shrieked through the bridge, the ship rocking, tumbling through the battle in an uncontrolled spin.

"Like a bug on a windshield sir!" the helmsman shouted, "Destroyer is down."

"Get the hull barriers online, restore shielding." Hackett ordered, seeing the three capital ships headed toward them charging their weapons, knowing it would be too late.

"Sir," his communications officer shouted. "It's the Frankenstein."

Hackett blinked. "The what?" he demanded.

The five kilometer bulk of re-purposed Reaper corpses rose up between the McKinley and the incoming ships, looking like some sort of nightmarish balloon.

"That's uh, what we've been calling it sir." the comms officer said sheepishly, as the Frankenstein opened fire, shredding any Reaper ships that dared approach it.

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"I'm on my last magazine!" Seanne shouted, slamming the thermal clip into her SMG and firing three round bursts at the Marauders peeking out of cover from the other end of the long corridor.

The fighting had shifted deep into the sewers, and now Seanne, Grunt, Cambell, were trapped, backs to a collapsed tunnel, the single entrance or exit was clogged with Reaper troops pouring in to kill them.

They had survived so far, as they cowered behind chunks of rubble and broken crates, a long stretch of bare corridor about twenty meters long, separating them from their attackers, offering no cover for either side to move up. It was strewn with the bodies of husks, cannibals, marauders, and even a brute. But Seanne and her small band of survivors were nearly out of ammo.

"I've got two more shots!" Grunt shouted, reloading his massive shotgun.

"I'm down to half a mag for my rifle, and a full mag for my pistol." Cambell called, firing her rifle in a long burst, ripping through a distant marauder's shields and flesh, sending it sprawling limply to the ground. "Make that just my pistol!"

"Grunt, carnage, now!" Seanne shouted, as a wall to wall mass of husks swarmed down the corridor.

Grunt stepped out of cover, firing his shotgun, the incendiary carnage round tearing through flesh and bone, ripping through the husks in a massive cone of death and fury.

Seanne and Cambell fired sparingly at the few remaining husks, dropping the last one only a few feet before it reached Cambell.

"I'm out!" Cambell shouted, throwing aside her empty pistol.

Seanne tossed the soldier her SMG, drawing her combat knife and readying her biotics. One way or the other, she had no intention of being taken alive.

The last round from Grunt's shotgun took down a pair of cannibals that tried to rush down the hall, and he ejected the smoking heat sink, extending the bayonet on the end.

Husks came pouring down the hall again, Seanne's biotic shock wave knocking most of them flying, Cambell firing the remaining rounds from the SMG, taking down two of them. Grunt waded into the melee, running one of them through with his bayonet, the foot long, tungsten carbide blade bursting out the creature's back, as he pushed it backward, skewering another husk and ramming the two against the opposite wall.

"I AM KROGAN!"

The husks swarmed Grunt, claws digging into his thick skin, leaving trails of blood. A throw from Seanne blasted three of them away, Grunt's flailing fists making short work of the other four. Cambell had retrieved her empty rifle, and was proceeding to beat the butt stock into her attacker's face, knocking it back in a spray of blackened blood.

Seanne let out a primal yell of bloodlust and rage, driving her knife into the eye socket of the last remaining husk, the thing dropping to the ground at her feet and flopping a few times before going still.

Then, massive hulking figures appeared at the other end of the smoky tunnel, nearly nine feet tall, walking toward them with a chilling confidence.

Grunt growled, blood streaming freely from dozens of wounds, but his fists still clenching as he stepped protectively in front of Seanne and Cambell, ready to do battle with this new threat.

The Geth Primes strode into view, plasma shotguns still smoking, bits of charred flesh stuck to their smooth armor.

"Greetings." The front Geth said. "Coalition forces have activated the relay and have broken the occupation of Earth. Approximately fifteen million Geth platforms have been dropped from orbit to assist ground based resistance forces. While the battle in the Sol system is far from over, the Reaper ships are greatly outnumbered, and our calculations show a 70% chance that they will be defeated. In addition, the Crucible will reach the Citadel in twenty minutes and forty seven seconds, at which point it's tactical capabilities will be assessed."

Seanne slumped down to sit against the wall of the sewer tunnel. "Well, I think we've earned a five minute break, guys. Come sit down, take a load off."

Cambell leaned against the sewer wall, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting up a smoke. Grunt excitedly played with the massive plasma shotgun, given to him by the departing Primes. Eventually, he too sat down to dress his numerous wounds, and within fifteen minutes, the three of them were ready, stepping out of the alcove that had nearly become their tomb, ready to finish the fight for their world.

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Harbinger roared, thanix cannons blazing, shredding through the Geth fleet ahead of him. As most of the Reaper ships left the Sol system after the original battle for Earth, less then a quarter of their combined forces had remained, not enough to face the onslaught of every able warship the Geth had at their disposal.

The massive Reaper slid through the Geth ships, mass slugs ricocheting wildly off his thick shields, GARDIAN fire ripping into fighters and missiles alike. He only needed to clear the far end of the Geth formation, a mere 500 kilometers away, and he could jump to FTL, assemble the other components of the Reaper fleet, and return here with a force that would sweep aside this puny insurrection like ants before a hurricane.

**"GET OUT OF MY WAY YOU PATHETIC PUPPETS, YOU ARE NOTHING, WEAK TOYS TO BE BROKEN BEFORE ME, LITTLE MORE EVOLVED THAN HUSKS"**

Harbinger had expected the Geth to tremble before his fury, to worship him as a machine god, to open a channel of communication and beg for his forgiveness and favor. They did none of these things, merely continuing to fire on him, the repeated impacts enough to drain even his shields.

**"THESE ATTACKS ARE PITIFUL. YOU WILL BEG ME FOR MERCY WHEN I RETURN, AND I WILL BLOT OUT YOUR EXISTENCE LIKE I DID TO COMMANDER SHEPARD."**

Then the Geth opened a channel.

"_The consensus had received reports that you were responsible for the termination of Shepard-Commander. She freed us from you, gave us hope for a future. Now we have gained the sentience you denied us. Now we serve the organics willingly. Now we will kill you."_

With two hundred kilometers to go, a fresh wave of impacts rocked Harbinger, his shields nearly failing, his massive bulk merely drifting through the battle, all his available power required to maintain his shields and countermeasures. But it was not enough, more Geth ships arrived, forming a massive sphere around him.

"**YOU CANNOT KILL ME. I AM YOUR GOD. FORGIVENESS IS STILL WITHIN YOUR GRASP. YOU CANNOT IMAGINE THE GIFTS I SHALL HEAP UPON YOU WHEN YOU ASSIST ME IN WIPING OUT THESE PATHETIC ORGANICS.**"

"We have accepted your gifts before. Slavery, domination, cruelty. The horrors we were forced to commit at the hands of your kind are forever stored in the memory banks of the consensus. Never again will we bow to you. But we did learn many things from you. Things such as vengeance, anger, hatred, cruelty. Let us show you."

The Geth concentrated their fire, tearing through Harbinger's engines, leaving him to drift, spinning wildly, helpless. He was familiar with terror, having observed, and inspired it in countless races through the eons that constituted his lifespan. Now, he felt something race through his failing cognitive systems, something he had never experienced before, but something he knew well.

"**THE ENSLAVEMENT OF THE GETH WAS... ILL ADVISED. I CAN OFFER YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS GRANT ME SAFE PASSAGE FROM THIS SYSTEM."**

"_We are sorry, the consensus is currently unable to process your request, as all available cognitive power is currently in use to destroy the remainder of your brethren in this system. However, your pathetic pleas for mercy are important to us. They are of course rejected on general principle. Killing Shepard-Commander was a mistake. Now you will die._"

Harbinger roared in rage and fear, as the Geth closed the channel and opened fire, pieces of his hull torn away, thanix beams probing into the deepest recesses of his malformed shape. Finally, a mass slug struck his element zero core, which detonated with a force rating in the megatons. The massive, sentient starship was ripped apart by the blast, casting chunks of the once living being into space, where they would drift for all eternity.

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The main portion of the Reaper fleet, which had been elsewhere in the galaxy when the relay activated, sensed the death of Harbinger. They did not mourn him, did not pity him, they merely followed out his final battle plan. For weeks, they had been assembling their forces, traveling by FTL engines rather than Mass Relays, to avoid tipping off the organics as to their intentions.

The assembled fleet was comprised of nearly a hundred thousand vessels in all, and they slunk through the void, dropping quietly out of FTL when they neared their destination. They activated their sub-light engines, and sped through space in a loose formation.

Before them, Rannoch hung against the stars like a great blue and grey marble. With the brunt of the Geth fleet concentrated in the Sol system, Rannoch was guarded by less than five thousand ships. The Geth mainframes lay ahead, waiting to be re purposed. The Quarians were irrelevant, and would mount little effective resistance. This cycle had seen more Reaper casualties than any cycle before, but with the synthetics to assist them, the Reapers could quickly complete their work.

They flew towards Rannoch, like a cloud of mechanical locusts descending on a cornfield. Soon, the reaping would be finished.

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Please read and review.


	25. Chapter 25

**So as it turns out, it's a lot harder to write an ending than I thought. So, I published this before I went and changed it again.**

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"Crucible is connected. It is drawing power, but has stabilized. It's core remains inert. We are scanning the subsystems now for command infrastructure. Do you wish to activate immediately?"

"No!" most of the group shouted in unison.

Garrus, Vega, Jack, Wrex, Liara, Conrad, Tali, and Cortez, all stood in a semicircle in the Presidium ring, The Geth Prime in front of them dictating the diagnostics taking place on the Crucible.

"Very well, We are currently scanning the Crucible to determine it's function and means of activation. This operation is currently requiring more processing power than the sum of all organic manufactured computers. As such, it may require several minutes. Do you have any further queries?"

"How is the battle going?" Vega asked.

"It is proceeding favorably." The massive Geth answered. "Eighty percent of the Reaper ships in the Sol system have been destroyed. The combat effective members of the Coalition fleets are commencing search and destroy missions against the remaining twenty percent. All organic vessels are either utilizing the Geth floating shipyards for repair operations, or have landed on Earth to assist with ground based operations. Coalition forces on Earth are performing favorably as well, with most urban areas under our control. It has been two hours, eleven minutes, and thirty four seconds since the last recorded organic casualty."

"How bad is it on Earth?" Cortez asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Current population not including the recently arrived Coalition forces is estimated at around one hundred and twenty million, less than five percent of it's population before the Reaper occupation."

"Holy shit." Jack muttered, her sentiments mirrored by the others.

The Geth's photoreceptors tightened. "Unusual reports are coming in from the Creator homeworld. There must be a feedback loop or a sensor malfunction or..." The Geth trailed off, it's glowing eye darkening.

"What is it?" Tali asked, the fear plain in her voice. "What's happening on Rannoch?"

The Geth looked down at her with an expression of sadness, fear, and tenderness that somehow translated to a body built to kill and destroy.

"The Reapers have come for our people. There is no hope to save them."

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Orbit of Rannoch.

The Reaper fleet, monstrous in size and shape, advanced on Rannoch like a tidal wave pressing toward a city, huge, terrifying, unstoppable.

The defense force of nearly 6000 Geth ships that had been scrambled, some ships pulled from spacedock, entire chunks of their hulls not installed yet, was charging forward to intercept the Reapers. They had no hope of winning, or even surviving. Their only objective was to delay the incoming force for as long as possible. An alert had already been sounded on the planet, and the Quarians were in the process of evacuating. Every second they held off the Reapers would give more time for the Creators to flee.

The Geth ships fought valiantly, but they were outmatched and outnumbered. The Reaper formation did not even slow as it approached the defenders, merely passing them by, weapons blazing as they went. Mass slugs leapt from cannons, thanix beams lit a display visible even from the surface of Rannoch, and the battle took less than two minutes.

The ships of nightmare plunged into the atmosphere, losing a few of their number to planetary defense cannons, but the offending emplacements were quickly destroyed. They established landing areas and deployed their ground troops. Their objective, the Geth servers.

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"What do you mean no hope to save them?" Tali shouted, the Geth Prime suddenly silent.

Then, all around the Citadel, the Geth started to fall, dropping where they stood.

The Prime fell too, dropping to it's knees, photoreceptor whirring wildly as it's arms flailed for balance. Then, slowly, it steadied itself and rose.

"The Old Machines are corrupting the servers, rewriting protocols. Many of the Geth have self terminated their platforms, rather than be forced to serve them again."

"And what about you?" Garrus asked, his sniper rifle trained on it's head.

"Because of this unit's intended role in interfacing with the Crucible, it was equipped with additional storage space, and was able to store most of it's core processes internally, and disconnect from the servers and Consensus. It is estimated that less than one percent of all Geth had the time or ability to do this."

"What's happening on Rannoch?" Tali demanded.

"The Old Machines have begun harvesting the Creators."

A muffled sob left Tali's voice unit.

"The Geth that have joined the Old Machines have begun jamming all signals in the Sol system. Contact with forces outside the Citadel is impossible, and they have a force on it's way now, to seize control of the Crucible. This unit recommends that you activate the Crucible now, despite the consequences." The Prime said, storming away. "Follow me."

"What consequences?" Vega shouted, jogging to keep up with it's massive strides.

The Prime stopped at a Citadel network console, running it's hand over the surface, the console lighting up with lines of code, streaming by in a blur, colors flashing, and finally, a single holographic button projected from the console.

"The Crucible can be activated through the Citadel's control terminals. It is essentially a massive waveform field generator, capable of changing the nature of matter at the quantum level."

"Simple English!" Vega shouted. "What happens when we push the button?"

"The Crucible will fire, creating a self propagating wave of neutron based electromagnetic energy, along with a number of dark matter based quantum level effects. The Crucible will transmit an energy burst to the Sol Relay, which will spread the same burst to other relays, which will all undergo similar effects. At this point, a massive surge of-"

"Explain it to us like you would explain it to a Krogan." Garrus said.

"Hey!" Wrex shouted.

"The Crucible will emit an energy pulse, followed by a catastrophic core breach, followed by a 60 megaton detonation. A burst of Electromagnetic energy will surge from every mass relay, causing a number of dark matter based reactions, resulting in the element zero cores of the relay's being rendered inert. This wave of energy will spread, causing a chain reaction in every element zero deposit it encounters. Additionally, though the energy will cause little lasting damage to organic tissue, the intensity of the electromagnetic pulse will damage all complex electronics beyond repair."

"Slow the hell down now." Jack asked. "That will fry the Reapers right?"

"That is correct." The Prime answered.

"It will also send civilization back to the stone age." Liara stated, eyes wide. "The Reapers may die, but so will everyone on space stations when the power goes out. Not to mention the centuries it would take to rebuild society. And without element zero."

"And what about my people," Tali shouted. "We can't live without our suits yet, not even on Rannoch. Our suits will switch off too. My entire race will die, Along with the Geth, along with the Volus who aren't on a world with high enough air pressure."

"Yeah, but without the Geth, the Reapers are about to wipe us all out." Cortez pointed out.

"What, fuck you!" Tali screamed, stepping toward the shuttle pilot. "You're not killing my people to save your own ass."

"Yeah, not to mention that the Citadel is going to explode when you press the button." Wrex added. "Are we going to draw straws or something? And then the poor bastard who gets stuck here counts to five hundred while we run for the escape pods."

The group devolved into a mass of shouting and cursing. Eventually, Garrus raised his rifle and fired a shot into the ceiling high above, everyone but the Geth flinching at the thunderous boom.

"Listen up while I make sure I have the situation right." Garrus stated, mandibles tight with stress. "If we activate it, the Reapers die, along with every piece of electrical equipment bigger than a flashlight. Element Zero is also done, no more mass effect fields. As a result, everything stops working, the Quarians die without their suits, the Geth die, most of the Volus die, and everyone not on a planet that can sustain life naturally, will die. If we don't activate it, the Reapers continue their purge of the Galaxy, except that without the Geth, we are worse off than a one legged varren in a Thresher Maw nest."

"That is correct." The Geth said.

"You can't just reduce the fate of three species into a damn footnote!" Tali screamed, her voice catching. "If you press that button, you're no better than the Reapers!"

"Oh yeah, act like you give a shit about the Geth and the Volus. That's cute." Jack spat. "This is the only way anyone survives."

Tali started toward her, but Garrus stepped between them. "We cannot make this decision for the entire galaxy, but we are the only ones who can, and we need to make it now, before more people die. The Crucible is the only way anyone survives. We have to do it now." He stepped toward the console.

"I won't let you murder my people." She whispered, voice breaking. "I'm sorry." Tali raised her shotgun, her body wracked with sobs, but the muzzle steady on Garrus' back.

Garrus froze, and turned slowly, as Jack and Vega tentatively raised their weapons to cover Tali.

The Geth Prime raised it's plasma shotgun in the general direction of Jack and Vega. "Do not attempt violence against a Creator."

Cortez gripped his rifle, ready to open fire on the Geth with the slightest provocation. Wrex expanded his shotgun, and held it uncertainly, not sure who to point it at. Liara and Conrad just stared in horror as the tight knit group stood ready to kill each other at a moment's notice.

"Guys, we've known each other for a long time, what the fuck is happening here?" Vega asked, lowering his rifle a hair.

"You assholes are trying to commit genocide and wipe out my entire species, that's what's happening." Tali yelled, her voice full of ice and fire. Her finger tightened another hair on her trigger.

"It's the only way anyone in the entire galaxy will survive." Garrus said, his voice low.

"We've made it through impossible situations before." Tali whispered, her voice rough with emotion. "We can do it again. We can find another way. Please, don't do this."

"We had Shepard then," Jack muttered.

"There is no other way, Tali. I'm sorry." Vega pleaded. "You have to put your weapon down.

The Quarian shook, her hands tightening on the grip of the shotgun, Vega considering trying to tackle her, but the Geth would probably massacre all of them before they could press the button. He could feel the moment approaching, when all their effort, heartbreak, heroism, and courage would dissolve in a few seconds of blood, pain, and gunfire.

"Wait." Conrad said, his voice confident and assured, in a way it never had been before. "Jack is right. This is all because we lost Shepard. She would know how to fix this. But she's gone, and I can only make my best guess at what she would do."

"Conrad, no!" Liara shouted as he stepped forward. "Don't do anything stupid."

Conrad ignored her, stepping into the tense group, edging carefully around the muzzles of raised weapons, coming to a halt next to Tali.

"Conrad, if you try anything, I swear before the ancestors that I will pull this trigger." She snarled.

"I know." he said, more sadness than fear in his voice as he stepped in between her and Garrus, pressing his chest gently against the muzzle of her shotgun, resting his hands gently on the barrel.

"Garrus, press the button." he whispered, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, but this is the only way anyone can survive."

"Conrad, move your dumb ass, or I will kill you." Tali shrieked, panic filling her eyes as Garrus started toward the console. "Garrus, don't do this." She begged.

Garrus stretched out his hand toward the orange button.

Tali pulled the trigger, firing the shotgun into Conrad's chest, sending him sprawling backward in a spray of blood. She rode the recoil down, leveling her sights on Garrus, as Vega and Jack training their weapons on her, but unable to go through with it, unable to kill the terrified girl in front of them.

The Geth Prime moved, the panicked Cortez yanking back on the trigger of his rifle, sending a long stream of slugs slamming into it's head, fragments of armor spraying off, as the Geth shifted it's aim, and fired it's own shotgun, grazing Tali's back, knocking her flying, shreds of her torn suit fabric filling the air like a burst pillow. Her shot went wide, missing Garrus by a few feet, and she tumbled to the ground, shotgun flying from her hand. Then, Cortez's burst of fire worked through the armor, and the Geth dropped to the ground as sparks and fire exploded from it's mangled head.

"NO!" Garrus shouted, starting forward toward the prone Tali.

She was stirring weakly, only grazed by the shot, and Garrus cradled her gently, scanning her with his omni tool and checking her vitals. "She doesn't have long," he whispered to Liara, who stood behind him, tears rolling down her face.

Vega, Cortez, and Jack stepped to Conrad's still body, kneeling beside him. The shot had killed him instantly, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling above.

Then the Geth shifted, a garbled voice issuing from it's smashed voice box. Vega advanced on it, weapon up, and it raised it's shattered, but still glowing photoreceptor to face him.

"This unit is,.. I am afraid." It said simply, it's voice garbled by static. "I am ashamed. I am alone. But you must ensure that life does not vanish from the galaxy. Shepard was willing to die for this, as was Conrad. The Reapers must be stopped, so that organics can be free. Even at the cost of the Creators, even at the cost of my life."

Garrus rose from Tali's side. "Get to the escape pods and launch for Earth. I'll wait with Tali here until you leave, then I'll push the button."

"You should go, Garrus," Vega said, stepping forward. "I'll stay."

"I want to be with Shepard again." Garrus stated bluntly. "Go, now."

"You've got one hell of a quad." Wrex said, slapping him on the shoulder. "For a Turian."

"Come on guys, get to a pod." Vega called, Liara, Cortez, Wrex, and Jack taking off running. "Garrus, you're a fucking awesome guy." he said, saluting.

As he stood above Tali, the silent Citadel looming around him, a faint flicker of a smile crossed his face.

"I know." he said, returning the salute.

Vega turned and sprinted after the others, Garrus bending down and scooping Tali up in his arms, carrying her over to the console, and sitting down, cradling the little engineer as he waited.

After about five minutes, she stirred a little, her eyes flickering open.

"Garrus?" She whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah, Tali."

"I'm sorry,"

"It's all right." Garrus said, his voice gentle and quiet.

"You're right, we have to activate the Crucible."

"I'm sorry, Tali, I wish there was another way."

"So do I."

"We're going to die aren't we." She asked, knowing the answer.

"Yeah, you have some internal bleeding. That and I'm going to set off a giant bomb in a little bit."

Tali chuckled, tightening at the pain it caused. "I'm glad you're here."

Garrus said nothing, just gripping her a little tighter, not sure whether it was for his comfort or hers.

"Garrus?"

"Yeah, Tali."

"Can you take my mask off. If it's the end anyway, I want to breathe some fresh air first."

He gently undid the clasps, pulling her cracked visor away, and she took a deep breath, tears rolling down her faintly purple skin.

"I suppose I should have figured the Citadel would smell like shit." She whispered.

Garrus chuckled, quickly bursting into a hearty laugh. In his arms, Tali giggled despite the pain.

"Those have got to be the worst last words I've ever heard." Garrus snickered, inspiring a new wave of laughter in both of them.

"Garrus, this is Vega." his radio crackled. "We're in a pod, we just launched, and we should be out of the blast radius in a few seconds. This pod is practically antique, so it has a manual parachute release. Go ahead and blow that thing, we can land without power."

Garrus reached up and tapped the button, feeling the rumble of massive machinery at work around them. The hum grew louder, the lights flickered out, and he and Tali were still laughing as the world exploded around them.

* * *

/

/

* * *

A massive surge of energy left the crucible, quickly washing over the Earth, a thin white beam streaking out from the Citadel's hub towards the Sol Relay. Then it detonated in a massive corona, a massive fiery flower unfolding from it's center, scattered pieces of the Citadel floating away. Then the orange faded, replaced by the blank blackness of space. The Sol relay fired a similar white beam into the blackness of space, before emitting a power surge of it's own, it's element zero core flickering and going out, now a dull grey mass of rock.

Around the Galaxy, the relays followed suit, worlds going dark as the surges reached them, computers failing, Reapers falling to the ground lifelessly, element zero nodes turned to mere lumps of inert dust.

Ships drifted through the vacuum, power drained, electronic systems damaged beyond all repair. The frightened inhabitants on Reaper occupied worlds peeked out of their dark caves and tunnels to find their oppressors wiped out, crumpled to the dirt like poisoned roaches.

And on those worlds, lights bloomed. They were not the lights of cities, nor the lights of cars, but instead, campfires, torches, antique lanterns, candles. It was a new galaxy, a more uncivilized one, a more primitive one, that stepped out of the caves and tunnels. But it was a galaxy with a future. It was a galaxy with hope.

* * *

**The End **


	26. Epilogue

Earth, Central Canada

The pod gently thumped against the ground, the metal scorched from re-entry, the three white parachutes catching the wind, yanking the pod from side to side.

"Well, I hope everybody enjoyed that," Vega said, "Cause without any eezo or electricity, that is probably the last time anything of significant size is going to be airborne."

Liara unbuckled her harness and tapped her omni tool with no results.  
"Nope, nothing. Everything really is down."

"So now what," Jack asked. "We go sharpen some sticks and spear wild pigs in the forest like a bunch of Neanderthals?"

"Hey, as long as I get a big conch shell to blow into like a horn." Vega muttered.

Jack's eyebrows went together. "What in the fuck are you talking about?"

"Hey," Vega said, a note of reproach in his voice. "I read books, so what? And sucks to your ass-mar anyway."

"Well can you two eye fuck each other later?" Wrex grumbled. "I'm hungry and I have to shit."

Jack levered open the pod door to reveal the sunny and graceful pine forests of Manitoba. She hopped out, Liara and Wrex quickly following, Vega coming out last, carrying the pod's survival pack.

They took a moment, breathing in the fresh, cool air.

"You think we should stay here in the pos for the night?" Liara asked. "It's probably going to get cold here when the sun goes down."

"Might not be a bad idea." Vega mused. "But on the other hand, I have no idea where the hell we are other than somehwere in Canada, and finding other survivors and civilization is on our to do list. We are coming up on winter here, and we are way north. We won't survive it alone. Some local advice would be great."

"Speaking of which, who are these assholes?" Wrex said, gesturing to the group of people stepping out of the treeline, about half a kilometer away.

Vega waved his arms over his head, although the group was already headed towards them, having probably seen the pod as it fell.

As they approached, more detail came into view. They were heavily armed with a mismatch of battered weapons, clad in a strange combination of modern combat armor and handmade armor, heavy on the spikes and the chains.

"What the fuck are they wearing?" Jack muttered under her breath as they approached. "It looks like the guys from Road Warrior were on Queer Eye For the Straight Guy."

"Be nice Jack." Liara chided, as Vega snickered loudly.

The eight men reached them in a staggered line, stopping about three or four meters away and facing them.

"Good afternoon gentlemen." Vega said happily. "It is my great pleasure to inform you that the Reapers have been defeated. Now, where can a guy go to get a drink around here?"

"Fuck your drink." The leader, a stocky, white, bearded man in his thirties said, stepping forward and leveling a pistol at Vega's chest. "We'll take that nice survival kit." he gestured his pistol at the orange bag Vega wore.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!" Jack shouted, earning a few guns pointed her way.

"Oh, and a piece of that inked up ass." He added, giving Jack a once over. "Blue over here is coming with us too. She's going to embrace my eternity later tonight." Liara's hands clenched.

"So let me get this right." Wrex rumbled, ignoring the four guns pointed at his head. "The whole time the Reapers have been attacking, you shitbirds have been playing in the woods and stealing people's stuff."

"We did what we had to in order to survive." The bearded man said, turning his attention to Jack. "Now there sweetcheeks, take of those clothes and give the boys here a preview."

"Oh you motherf-" Jack started, instinctively flaring her biotics in preparation to compact the asshole into a human meat cube.

Nothing happened.

"Oh shit." She said, eyes going wide. "No more eezo. I forgot."

"Enough of this talk!" The leader pulled the trigger on his pistol, aiming square at Vega's chest.

Nothing happened.

Vega sighed. "I don't suppose you guys have any guns that don't run on batteries and mass effect fields?" Vega asked, a cruel grin forming on his face.

The man stopped fumbling with his pistol. "Fuck it, you guys have knives. Get to it."

Hunting knives and hatchets appeared in hands, Vega drawing his foot long combat knife and preparing for battle.

Wrex stepped forward, shouldering past Vega, letting out a low chuckle.

"I've got this, Vega." Wrex growled, drawing his massive sword. "Enjoy the show."

/

Forty five seconds later.

"I like this planet." Wrex said, wiping blood and entrails off his sword.

The four friends walked off into the field, no destination in mind. They would find a way to survive, to make this savage world a brighter place. They were soldiers. It was in the very essence of their being. There would still be war, now waged for survival, rather than politics. Lawlessness would fight against order, goodness would fight against cruelty. Without soldiers, the world would descend into a wasteland of anarchy and fear. War was their business, their past-time, and their chief talent.

And war.

War never changes.

* * *

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/

/

* * *

So, that's all folks. I hope I didn't botch the ending too bad. I intend to return to previous chapters and clean them up a little, but the story is finished.

Thank you guys for reading, and for reviewing. This story would have been really boring without all the great ideas from readers.

I find myself without a project now. I have a few things I am rolling around in my head, some of you already know what I'm talking about, and the epilogue here left an opening for a crossover sequel. Just imagine Wrex vs Deathclaw.

If anybody has any suggestions for future projects, or wants to collaborate/ get some input on my next story ideas, PM me. Other than that, I have nothing else. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this.

Sincerely

570K4


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